A federal trial is set to begin Monday over claims that supporters of former President Donald Trump threatened and harassed a Biden-Harris campaign bus in Texas four years ago, disrupting the campaign on the last day of early voting.

The civil trial over the so-called “Trump Train” comes as Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris race into the final two months of their head-to-head fight for the White House in November.

Democrats on the bus said they feared for their lives as Trump supporters in dozens of trucks and cars nearly caused collisions, harassing their convoy for more than 90 minutes, hitting a Biden-Harris campaign staffer’s car and forcing the bus driver to repeatedly swerve for safety.

The lawsuit names six defendants, accusing them of violating the “Ku Klux Klan Act,” an 1871 federal law to stop political violence and intimidation tactics.

  • Carmakazi@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    A prior lawsuit filed over the “Trump Train” alleged the San Marcos Police Department violated the Ku Klux Klan Act by failing to send a police report after multiple 911 calls were made and a bus rider said his life was threatened. It accused officers of privately laughing and joking about the emergency calls. San Marcos settled the lawsuit in 2023 for $175,000 and a requirement that law enforcement get training on responding to political violence.

    In case you were still wondering what side the police are on, and whether you could count on their help if these people came after you.

    • DogPeePoo@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      Civil trial only because… Texas. Fucking Texas 🤦🏽🤦‍♀️🤦🏻‍♂️

    • Zombiepirate@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      And notably, it’s because the cops didn’t give a fuck.

      The lawsuit plaintiffs said law enforcement "turned a blind eye to the attack — despite pleas for help — and failed to provide the bus a police escort.” The lawsuit alleged that by refusing to help, law enforcement officers violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 because they were aware of “acts of violent political intimidation” but did not take appropriate steps to prevent the Trump supporters from intimidating eligible voters.

      • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Worse than that, they were laughing about it.

        Those that weren’t already there actively harassing them, I presume.

      • Aniki 🌱🌿@discuss.tchncs.de
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        2 months ago

        I am absolutely sure that the courts will both annihilate the little people while simultaneously letting the cops completely off the hook.

        • Sconrad122@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          The city already settled to pay about $3 per resident for the cops’ bad behavior and to put cops in a training on political violence. If some of the cops in question live outside of the city (not uncommon), they probably won’t pay a dime and the only impact they will feel is sitting through a training session that they will probably not take seriously

    • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      (Again)

      I mean we know trump supporters committed domestic terrorism, they shocked the world, doing it on live tv. This just shows that it was more than once, not a single isolated incident.

    • OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I remember it was all over the news when it happened, for a couple of days. Not Fox News of course, but real news sources covered it.

      • BalooWasWahoo@links.hackliberty.org
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        2 months ago

        I’ll admit I had not heard anything about this until today. I know there has been a sign up in my city with something about a trump train (and clearly in support of whatever it was) and had been ignoring the sign just like I do everything else related to that idiot.