'Trump train' federal lawsuit: Jurors deliberating
AUSTIN, Texas - A jury is still deliberating whether a convoy of Trump supporters intimidated people on a Biden-Harris campaign bus along I-35 in San Marcos back in 2020.
The jury started deliberating late Friday and picked back up Monday, Sept. 23.
A couple dozen Trump supporters were heard praying Monday as they waited anxiously outside the courtroom for a verdict.
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.
"Any time political speech is heard before the courts, it generally has the highest protection, and the courts then have to determine where does that free speech actually end?" St. Edward’s University political science professor Brian Smith, Ph. D. said.
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Jurors are deliberating after two weeks of trial in an Austin federal courtroom.
"We have to be careful because if we start using laws to stifle political speech and speech we disagree with, then people are going to be afraid, but similarly, the right to free speech is not absolute, and it doesn't include violence and intimidation. There are limits to that, so they're walking a very fine line here," Smith said.
The six defendants face three different counts: violation of the federal Ku Klux Klan Act and violation of two Texas laws against civil conspiracy and civil assault.
If the jury finds any of the defendants liable, they will have to decide how much money to award in compensation.