'Trump train' trial juror not proud of the outcome
SAN MARCOS, Texas - A juror from the "Trump train" trial is not proud of the outcome. The juror, who wants to remain anonymous, claims the jury would have been hung if they didn’t compromise.
"It didn't feel like enough, but it felt like it was all that I could get," the juror said.
They were one of seven jurors in what was called the Trump train trial.
"I did not expect to get chosen," the juror said.
The incident at the center of the case was during a 2020 convoy of Trump supporters who surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus as it traveled from San Antonio to Austin.
When opening statements began, the juror thought, "Oh no, it’s so controversial and people have such strong feelings about it. And also, it was interesting being sat down in the middle of someone else's fight that's been going on for four years."
Former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, the bus driver, and a former campaign staffer, all on the bus at the time, sued eight Trump supporters who were involved in the convoy. Two of the defendants settled before the trial started.
The juror said while they were presented evidence, they tried to put themselves in both sides’ shoes.
For those on the bus, the juror said they thought, "I'm not sure the intention of these people slowing the bus down to such a low speed. I don't know the intention of that."
For those involved in the convoy, the juror said they thought, "They perhaps were feeling that they hadn’t been seen or heard before and this is a way to feel heard or seen."
The six defendants faced three different counts: violation of the federal Ku Klux Klan Act, and violation of two Texas laws against conspiracy and civil assault.
After two weeks of trial, the jurors started to deliberate.
"Pretty quickly it was clear that several people said they didn't think those people woke up that day and decided to commit assault, and my response was that I don't think that was our charge was to decide that those people woke up and decided to commit assault, and someone else said they thought they were pretty nice people that got a little excited and my response is, I don't think that was our charge either to decide that they were nice people," the juror said.
The juror said they then started comparing evidence to the law. Not everyone was on the same page. At one point, they wrote a letter to the judge saying they were hung. The judge told them to try to figure it out.
"To me, it was a question of was there enough evidence to show that they had not abided by the law?" the juror said.
The juror said they started to compromise, but they pushed for Eliazar Cisneros to be held liable. He is credited with organizing the ‘Trump train’ and during the event, he sideswiped a campaign staffer’s vehicle following the bus.
"It was very clear that Mr. Cisneros had all the criteria to be held liable," the juror said.
"Were other jurors pushing back on that?" FOX 7 Crime Watch reporter Meredith Aldis asked.
"Yes, they said I don’t believe in freedom of speech, and I don’t believe in the first amendment and things like that," the juror responded.
The juror said they weren’t backing down.
"I said, I don’t need it to be a lot of money, I just need to make a statement that you just don’t do this. The other juror said ‘I’m not going anywhere on this’ and I also said, ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ so I will stay here as long as it takes," the juror said.
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They all eventually agreed Cisnero’s actions crossed the line from political expression to something more threatening, and he was found liable by the federal KKK Act.
The jury ordered Cisneros to pay each plaintiff $10,000 with the bus driver receiving an additional $10,000.
"I don’t want to say I’m proud of it, I wish I could have done more. I think I believe in a better country than what I was able to do," the juror said.
The juror said they believe the trial was made political, and it shouldn’t have been.
"It should just not be political. It should just be do you want to be in a place where people can safely have an opinion either way, just take their name off of it, are people allowed to drive safely down the street with an opinion and not be threatened," the juror said.
The juror said they wish the cases were tried separately.