Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, along with other former Biden campaign officials, will continuing litigating separating claims against an additional six Trump Train activists.
Two “Trump Train” supporters have settled a lawsuit with Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, who, along with several others, claimed that pro-Trump activists harassed her while campaigning for President Joe Biden in the 2020 general election.
According to The Texas Tribune, attorneys for Davis and her co-plaintiffs announced the tentative settlement on Thursday, filing papers to dismiss all outstanding claims against Hannah Ceh and Kyle Kruger.
However, Davis will continue pursuing claims against six other Trump Train participants.
Ceh, for her part, has since issued a public apology.
“Looking back, I would have done things differently,” Ceh said in a statement. “I do not feel that I was thinking things through at the time, and I apologize to the occupants of the bus for my part in actions that day that frightened or intimidated them.”
The Texas Tribune reports that the plaintiffs, including a Biden campaign volunteer, a former campaign staffer, and a bus driver, alleged that Ceh, Kruger, and six other Trump Train activists violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 by surrounding a Biden campaign bus traversing Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Austin.
Trump Train participants followed the bus for miles, screaming out of their vehicle windows, honking, and forcing the bus to a crawl on the interstate.
The lawsuit claims that the Trump Train was designed to intimidate Biden supporters and disrupt the then-Democratic candidate’s election campaign.
Kruger, in an apology that seemed somewhat less-than-sincere, said that he and other Trump Train activists were “happy” that the Biden campaign responded by canceling the rest of its bus tour.
“I knew that my driving was risky, but I wanted to express my opposition to their campaign and send them a message to leave my community,” Kruger said in an apology. “While I regret now participating in such risky activity, and apologize to the occupants of the bus for my part in the actions that day, at the time I and other Trump Train participants were happy that, after our actions, the Biden campaign canceled the rest of the bus tour.”
In their civil lawsuit, Sen. Davis and the other plaintiffs said that the Trump Train’s reckless actions infringed on their First Amendment rights.
The Texas Tribune notes that attorneys for Biden campaign staff presented evidence, including screenshots of Ceh and Kruger’s social media feed.
Ceh and Kruger, who are engaged, participated in the Trump Train together, sometimes driving “within inches” of the Biden campaign bus.
At one point, Ceh told Kruger that she was “getting too nervous” and that the Trump Train’s actions were “stressing her out.”
“Nevertheless, Defendant Kruger continued to come close to the Biden-Harris Campaign bus and abruptly swerved next to it,” the lawsuit stated.
Davis and the other plaintiffs have also filed a lawsuit against the San Marcos Police Department, which failed to respond to 9-1-1 calls, despite repeated pleas for assistance.
That lawsuit is still ongoing.
Sources
Two Defendants in the Texas “Trump Train” Lawsuit Agree to Settlement
Texas ‘Trump Train’ members who intimidated Biden campaign bus apologize, settle lawsuit
Two Texas “Trump Train” participants settle lawsuit claiming they harassed 2020 Biden campaign bus
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