By NADIA LATHAN, Associated Press/Report for America
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A jury in Texas will soon determine whether a convoy of supporters of then-President Donald Trump violently intimidated former Democratic Rep. Wendy Davis and two others on a Biden-Harris campaign bus when a so-called “Trump Train” surrounded them for greater than an hour on a Texas highway just days before the 2020 election.
The process that began on September 9will proceed on Monday and is predicted to last one other week.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that six of the Trump Train riders violated state and federal laws. Attorneys for the defendants said they didn’t conspire against the Democrats on the bus and that their actions were protected speech.
Here’s what else it’s best to know:
What happened on October 30, 2020?
Dozens of cars and trucks organized by an area Trump Train group surrounded the bus because it made its way from San Antonio to Austin. It was the last day of early voting in Texas for the 2020 general election, and the bus was scheduled to make a stop in San Marcos for an event at Texas State University.
Video recorded by Davis shows pickup trucks carrying large Trump flags slamming on their brakes and surrounding the bus because it attempted to drive away from the Trump Train. One defendant rammed a campaign employee's automobile while the trucks occupied every lane, slowing the bus and everybody around it to a crawl of 15 mph.
Those on the bus – including Davis, a campaign staffer and the motive force – repeatedly called 911, asking for help and a police escort through San Marcos, but when no police arrived, the campaign canceled the event and continued on to Austin.
Saint Mark settled a separate legal dispute submitted by the identical three Democrats against the policeand agreed to pay $175,000 and require mandatory training for law enforcement officials on how one can cope with political violence.
Davis testified that she felt like she was being “held hostage” and sought treatment for her anxiety disorders.
In the times leading as much as the event, Democrats were also intimidated and harassed and received death threats, the lawsuit says.
“I feel like they enjoyed scaring us,” Davis testified. “It's traumatic for all of us to relive that day.”
What is the plaintiffs’ argument?
A lawyer for the plaintiffs said in opening statements that the convoy's organizers targeted the bus in a calculated attack to intimidate Democrats, a violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act, an 1871 federal law that prohibits political violence and intimidation.
“We are here because of actions that put people's lives in danger,” said Samuel Hall, an attorney with the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher. The plaintiffs were “literally driven out of town by a horde of trucks,” he said.
The six riders of the Trump Train succeeded in getting the campaign to cancel its remaining events in Texas in a war they believed was “between good and evil,” Hall said.
Two nonprofit advocacy groups, Texas Civil Rights Project and Protect Democracy, are also representing the three plaintiffs.
What is the defense argument?
Lawyers for the defendants accused of driving and organizing the convoy said that they had no plan to harass the Democrats on the bus, which could have left the highway at any time.
“This was a political rally. This was not a conspiracy to intimidate people,” said attorney Jason Greaves, who represents two of the drivers.
The defense also argued that their clients' actions were a violation of freedom of expression and that the trial was a concerted try to “rip off conservatives,” said Francisco Canseco, a lawyer for 3 of the defendants.
“It was a hooray group that wanted to support and represent a candidate of their choice in a very vocal way,” Canseco said in his opening speech.
The defense failed last month in an try to have the case decided of their favor and not using a trial. The judge wrote that “attacks, intimidations, or imminent threats of violence against others are not protected speech.”
Lathan is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues.
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