Let’s have a Day One check in.
A federal trial began Monday over claims that supporters of former President Donald Trump threatened and harassed a Biden-Harris bus in Texas four years ago, disrupting the campaign on the last day of early voting.
In opening statements, the plaintiffs’ lawyer argued that the six “Trump Train” drivers participated in an orchestrated attack aimed at intimidating people on the bus and making the campaign cancel its remaining events in Texas.
“This Trump Train was different because it had a target,” attorney Samuel Hall said. “We’re here because of actions that put people’s lives in danger.”
The defense argued that the drivers did not conspire against the Biden-Harris campaign bus that day, and instead joined the train as if it were a pep rally. They also claimed that the bus had several opportunities to exit the highway on its way from San Antonio to Austin.
“It was a rah-rah group that sought to support and advocate for a candidate of their choice in a very loud way,” attorney Francisco Canseco said.
[…]
Videos of the confrontation on Oct. 30, 2020, that were shared on social media, including some recorded by the Trump supporters, show a group of cars and pickup trucks — many adorned with large Trump flags — crowding the campaign bus, boxing it in, slowing it down and keeping it from exiting the highway.
On the two previous days, Biden-Harris supporters were subjected to death threats, with some Trump supporters displaying weapons, according to the lawsuit. These threats in combination with the highway confrontation led Democrats to cancel an event later in the day.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, alleges the defendants were members of local groups near San Antonio that coordinated the confrontation.
Canseco said before the trial that his clients acted lawfully, exercising their free speech rights and not infringing on the rights of people on the bus.
“It’s more of a constitutional issue,” Canseco said. “It’s more of who has the greater right to speak behind their candidate.”
The trial judge is Robert Pitman, an appointee of President Barack Obama. He denied the defendants’ pretrial motion for a summary judgment, ruling last month that the KKK Act prohibits the physical intimidation of people traveling to political rallies, even when racial bias isn’t a factor.
While one of the defendants, Eliazar Cisneros, argued his group had a First Amendment right to demonstrate support for their candidate, the judge wrote that “assaulting, intimidating, or imminently threatening others with force is not protected expression.”
“Just as the First Amendment does not protect a driver waving a political flag from running a red light, it does not protect Defendants from allegedly threatening Plaintiffs with reckless driving,” Pitman wrote.
See here for the previous update, and here for a copy of the judge’s order denying the defendants’ motions for summary judgment; if you want a deeper dive into the evidence that has been presented so far, that will do you. The Statesman adds on.
In the plaintiffs’ opening statements, Hall presented a barrage of expletive-laden social media posts, comments, videos and private communications from the defendants to argue that the “Trump Train” members intended to shut down their Democratic opponents’ campaign events, including by using the term “#blockthebus” on posts urging supporters to show up in San Antonio.
In one communication, Joeylynn Mesaros wrote, “We’re raging to chase down the Biden bus. It looks like others are ready to f— s— up too.” She described the event in a social media post as “giving (the bus) a friendly escort out of town.”
Hall also said the defendants gloated about the incident’s effect.
In one Facebook comment shown by Hall, defendant Cisneros — who had a minor collision with the Biden staffer trailing the bus — wrote, “That was me slamming into that f—er. … Hell yea.”
In a video of Ceh, the pastor says to a crowd, “Any socialist coming to the state of Texas, we’re going to escort them right out of Texas.” Ceh smirked in court as the video played.
“This type of political harassment — against Republicans, against Democrats, against anyone — does not have a place in America,” Hall said, concluding his statement.
On the defendants’ side, the four attorneys making opening remarks each denied that their clients intended to do anything more than loudly support their chosen presidential candidate — Trump.
A lawyer for Park, said the videos should be considered in the same way one would consider a fan “in the heat of watching a sports game.”
During a live stream on Facebook, her client recorded herself saying, “They think they’re gonna sneak and get off the highway but it’s not gonna work.”
Park’s attorney presented videos she said showed that Park’s vehicle largely did not come near the bus, instead trailing “a great distance behind it” except when Park moved in front of the bus to exit the highway.
Jared Nabar, the attorney for Joeylynn and Robert Mesaros, spoke little on the facts of the case, saying the trial would show the jury the context behind the clips and social media posts.
“They’re gonna make my case for me,” he said of the plaintiffs, adding later, “This lawsuit is an abuse of the judicial system and nothing more than an attempt to silence the defendants.”
OK then. The trial is scheduled to last a week, wrapping up on September 17. I suspect it will be quite engaging. I’ll keep an eye on it.
“The right to swing your arms around ends where my nose begins”, or words to that effect, apply here. You can wave your flags and scream until your face turns blue in support of a candidate and that’s freedom of speech, but bullying, intimidation, and physical violence in support of a candidate are not protected speech.
These people could have had their “pep rally” in so many other places and allowed the Biden bus to travel in peace. They are nothing but nasty bullies, and I hope they finally pay a price for their poor choices.
Also approaching politics like sports fandom is an extremely stupid idea.
I’ll also add that while I think social media is a net negative, I do appreciate its use in giving malicious fools the rope to hang themselves.