'Trump train' federal civil lawsuit: Texas jury finds man liable
SAN MARCOS, Texas - A Texas jury found a San Antonio man liable in the "Trump train" federal civil lawsuit on Monday.
On Monday, Sept. 23, the jury found Navy veteran Eliazar Cisneros, of San Antonio, liable under the KKK Act, for conspiring to disrupt the Biden-Harris campaign and intimidate its supporters. Congress passed the Klan Act in 1871 to put an end to the terror organization’s coordinated attacks on newly emancipated citizens.
Cisneros organized the 2020 "Trump train." He is now ordered to pay $40,000 in total to the three plaintiffs.
Each plaintiff, Wendy Davis, David Gins, and Timothy Holloway, will receive $10,000 for punitive damages. The bus driver, Timothy Holloway, will receive an additional $10,000 for compensatory damages.
No liability was found on behalf of the five other defendants in this trial.
"A democracy necessarily relies on the freedom to support our candidates of choice, no matter how much we might disagree," said Wendy Davis, plaintiff and former Texas State Senator. "It also depends on our ability to seek redress when those freedoms are inhibited through force, threat, and intimidation. I am deeply grateful to the jury for their decision today. It’s one that will send a strong signal to others that forceful threats and intimidation that seek to silence our voices in elections will not be tolerated."
MORE STORIES:
- 'Trump train' federal lawsuit: Jurors deliberating
- 'Trump train' federal lawsuit: Closing arguments set to begin
- 'Trump train' federal civil lawsuit begins
"It takes an extraordinary amount of courage to be a plaintiff in such a public civil rights case," said Christina Beeler, Senior Supervising Attorney at Texas Civil Rights Project who serves as co-counsel on the case. "Nothing can change what Wendy, David, and Tim experienced on that campaign bus four years ago, but as a result of their courage, our democracy is stronger and more resilient. This verdict affirms and reinforces that every American has the fundamental right to participate in the democratic process and to support the candidates of their choosing free from election-related intimidation or violence.
Background on the "Trump train" federal lawsuit:
The lawsuit filed by Biden supporters claims drivers and organizers of a "Trump Train through San Marcos" are responsible for assault and political intimidation tactics.
Nearly four years ago, a "Trump train," with dozens of cars and trucks sporting Trump flags, surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus on I-35 as it traveled from San Antonio to Austin. Video showed vehicles swerving in and out of traffic and slowing the bus at times to 15 miles per hour.
The prosecutors claimed the defendants organized a politically motivated conspiracy to disrupt the Biden-Harris campaign and intimidate its supporters. The people who were on the bus said they’ve suffered anxiety since the incident.
On the other side, the defense said this case is an abuse of the judicial system. Defendants argued they didn’t intend to prevent political activity and the incident was an exercise in free speech.
The federal lawsuit took place for two weeks.