City of San Marcos federally sanctioned for failure to preserve 'Trump Train' documents
SAN MARCOS, Texas - A federal judge has sanctioned the city of San Marcos for failing to preserve documents related to an incident in 2020 involving Donald Trump supporters surrounding a Joe Biden campaign bus on I-35.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleged the city failed to preserve evidence, specifically email accounts and other electronically stored information of three employees.
U.S. District Judge Mark Lane concluded in his order that San Marcos "failed miserably" to take reasonable steps to preserve that information for one of the three employees and that the city was obligated to retain the cell phones, phone records, text messages, and emails of any employee with any relevant information.
Lane stated in the order the city was negligent, and its conduct was sanctionable, but the plaintiffs did not establish the misconduct was in bad faith. Plaintiffs are still allowed to argue the failure to preserve evidence was because the city viewed that information as unfavorable to their case.
The court will also be ordering punitive measures, which will be determined in a meeting between all parties by July 14.
What happened in October 2020?
A lawsuit filed in June 2021 alleged that a pack of motorists flying Trump flags surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus as it traveled from San Antonio to Austin in October 2020.
In videos posted on Twitter, a group of cars and pickup trucks can be seen riding alongside the campaign bus and at times boxing it in, according to the Associated Press. At one point, one of the trucks can be seen colliding with an SUV driving behind the bus.
Former Sen. Wendy Davis and others sue members of a 'Trump train'
In November 2020, a group of cars and pick-up trucks with Trump flags surrounded and followed a Biden-Harris campaign bus while it was heading North on I-35 to Austin. A black truck can be seen in cell phone footage colliding with a Biden staffer's SUV.
An amended version of the lawsuit filed in October 2021 claimed that "San Marcos refused to help" and included transcribed 911 audio recordings and documents revealing behind-the-scenes communications among law enforcement and dispatchers, says the Texas Tribune.
The amended lawsuit alleged that that San Marcos police officials and 911 dispatchers fielded multiple requests for help from Democratic campaigners and bus passengers who said they feared for their safety from the "Trump Train."
The lawsuit alleged specifically that the San Marcos Director of Public Safety Chase Stapp, members of the San Marcos Police Department and the San Marcos City Marshal’s Department failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the harassment that led them to ultimately cancel a campaign stop in San Marcos, says FOX 7 Austin's reporting partner KSAT.
The incident, which was caught on video, prompted an FBI investigation.
KSAT, the Texas Tribune, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.