Two supporters of former President Donald Trump accused of participating in a “politically-motivated conspiracy” by closely following, slowing down, and honking at a campaign bus for current President Joe Biden on a Texas highway in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election have settled with former State Senator Wendy Davis and three others on the bus.
According to the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, the parties agreed to terms that were not made public, but issued formal apologies for their involvement in the “Trump Train”. Hannah Ceh and Kyle Kruger, who represented themselves in the lawsuit, wrote formal apologies to the occupants of the bus for their actions that day, stating that they regret participating in such risky activity.
The plaintiffs, including a former campaign staffer, a Biden campaign volunteer, and the bus driver, claimed in the lawsuit that Ceh, Kruger, and six others violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and Texas law when, along with dozens of supporters in trucks with Trump flags, they surrounded the bus as it drove up Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Austin. They shouted, honked, and successfully slowed it down in a deliberate attempt to intimidate supporters and disrupt the campaign, leading to Texas Democrats canceling three scheduled campaign events in Central Texas due to “safety concerns”.
The Klan Act prohibits groups from joining together to obstruct free and fair federal elections by intimidating and injuring voters, or denying them the ability to engage in political speech, leading to the lawsuit against “Trump Train” participants.
Despite the settlement, the case remains ongoing against the six other defendants, and U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman set a trial date for April 22, 2024.
Across the country, caravans of Trump supporters dubbed themselves “Trump Trains” and gathered to support the former president’s reelection campaign throughout the fall of 2020 leading up to Election Day. The groups largely organized themselves on social media, and this incident made national news in the days leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
Davis and the other plaintiffs filed a second lawsuit against San Marcos police, alleging they turned a blind eye to the attack. The lawsuit against the “Trump Train” participants is still ongoing, and 911 transcripts filed in that lawsuit revealed San Marcos police refused to send help despite repeated requests for those on the bus.
