Southwest
'Trump Train' trial: Bus driver says he felt 'under attack' during interstate clash
The driver of a Biden-Harris campaign bus told jurors on Wednesday that he felt “under attack” when the bus he was driving was swarmed by a convoy of former President Trump supporters on a busy Texas interstate days before the 2020 presidential election.
On the third day of the “Trump train trial,” bus driver Timothy Holloway testified that he felt threatened during the incident when dozens of vehicles adorned with large Trump flags surrounded the bus along Interstate 35 as it made its way to a campaign event.
“I was the captain of the ship. I was the pilot of the plane,” a tearful Holloway told the seven-person jury, according to the San Antonio Express-News. “I don’t know what they’re trying to do.”
‘TRUMP TRAIN’ TRIAL KICKS OFF WITH FORMER DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER TESTIFYING SHE FELT LIKE A ‘HOSTAGE’
A Trump supporter in a pick-up truck tails a Biden-Harris campaign bus in 2020. (John Hinojosa via Storyful)
Holloway said he had a clenching feeling in his stomach and sweaty palms as he worked to stay calm during the Oct. 30, 2020, incident, saying the “Trump Train” drivers forced him to slow down to speeds as low as 5 or 10 miles per hour.
Holloway, along with former Democratic Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, a campaign volunteer and a staffer, is suing six Trump supporters who were part of the convoy that day, accusing them of political intimidation in a federal civil case that kicked off Monday.
The plaintiffs say those Trump supporters are responsible for assault and political intimidation tactics, including violating state law and the federal Enforcement Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. The law aims to stop political violence and intimidation tactics and was enacted by Congress during the Reconstruction Era to protect the rights of Black men to vote by prohibiting political violence.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021, seeks punitive and compensatory damages.
The defendants — Steve Ceh, Randi Ceh, Robert Mesaros, Joeylynn Mesaros, Eliazar Cisneros and Dolores Park — say they were merely supporting Trump “in a very loud way,” an attorney has said.
The plaintiffs say the group attempted to run the bus off the road along Interstate 35 and in one incident captured on video, a “Trump Train” pickup truck and a Biden campaign SUV collided while trailing the bus, although nobody was hurt. The defendants have denied driving recklessly and argue that a campaign staff member in the white SUV initiated the collision along the highway. Video leading up to the collision shows the SUV repeatedly driving in between lanes.
The plaintiffs argue that some of those in the convoy appeared to believe that Kamala Harris, then a candidate for vice president, might be aboard, though she was not.
A pick-up truck in Seaford, New York, on Oct. 18, 2020, with American flags. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Holloway on Wednesday testified he got an “eerie feeling” when he saw the Trump supporters’ vehicles lined up along the interstate waiting for the bus around the Solms Road exit near New Braunfels, the San Antonio Express-News reports. He said that the “Trump Train” drivers caused several near-collisions and forced Holloway to repeatedly swerve to avoid crashing, adding that if he had tried to navigate the bus through the group of vehicles, it might have led to deaths.
“I can’t really outrun these cars,” Holloway said. “You have to do whatever the car in front of you does.”
Erin Mersino, a defense attorney, asked Holloway why he didn’t pull off the freeway and seek safety at a police station if he felt threatened. Holloway replied saying that there are usually stoplights on the frontage roads along the highway, where the “Trump Train” drivers might have surrounded the stopped bus, per the outlet.
Mersino said Halloway could have run the lights if he were really in fear for his life.
Theron Bowman, a former police official who is working as a paid expert witness for the plaintiffs’ attorneys, also took the stand on Wednesday, as well as on Tuesday, and testified that the “Trump Train” drivers posed a “serious threat” to traffic safety and that their actions appeared “very coordinated,” the San Antonio Express-News reports.
He noted that one driver — Robert Mesaros — pulled in front of the bus to stop on the shoulder, while Bowman said he could see a pattern of the drivers working together to surround the bus.
TRUMP-BIDEN HIGHWAY INCIDENT IN TEXAS MAY HAVE BEEN WHITE SUV’S FAULT, POLICE SAY; MORE INVESTIGATION PLANNED
A pick-up truck with Trump flags flanks a Biden-Harris campaign bus (John Hinojosa via Storyful)
Mesaros’ attorney argued that his client had stopped on the shoulder due to damage to a state of Texas flag that was flying from the back of his truck and that he only pulled in front of the bus when Holloway honked the horn, interpreting the honk as a signal to go ahead and pull over.
Bowman countered, saying that Holloway made a sustained honk of his horn, indicating for him to “get out of my way.”
“The option that he took was probably the least safe option that he had at that moment,” Bowman said, per the San Antonio Express-News.
Bowman also said that video showed a line of “Trump Train” drivers in front of the bus braking at the same time to slow it down.
He also pointed to cell phone videos filmed by Dolores Park, one of the defendants, where she can be heard saying: “They try to break us up, but it doesn’t work … there’s too many of us.” She can also be heard in the video describing how she could “scoot over” in front of a semi-truck to let more drivers join the convoy.
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On Monday, Davis, who was also on the bus, testified that she felt like she was being “taken hostage in a way.”
“It was a day that was very different from anything I experienced campaigning,” said Davis, who testified that she felt riddled with fear and anxiety.
The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Los Angeles, Ca
‘Moana’ is a triumph for Pacific Islander representation on the big screen
“Moana” has been called a box office flop, an unnecessary money grab by Walt Disney Studios, but what it hasn’t been called yet is a triumphant win for cultural representation on the big screen.
The live-action adaptation of the beloved 2016 animated movie “Moana” effectively bombed at the box office, making much less money than industry insiders anticipated.
While it failed to live up to the expectations of the box office and critics alike, the film did exceed the expectations of moviegoers of Pacific Island descent, and they’ve taken to social media to express just how much the movie means to them.
Moana is more than the main character’s name. It means ocean across several Pacific Islander languages.
One user explained how this kind of representation is more than entertainment.
“When I watched ‘Moana,’ I couldn’t hold back my tears. I heard the language of my parents, the language of my people. I saw our traditional Samoan clothing, our weaving, our siva, our culture, our values. I saw my people. I saw me.”
Another user said seeing Pacific Islanders on the silver screen influenced her own artistry.
“Representation matters. As a sometimes-Female-Polynesian-filmmaker (depending on the day and my imposter syndrome), seeing our stories on a screen this big makes me dream a little bigger too.”
Even the film’s star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, spoke to the film’s representation in a recent Instagram post.
“I feel that our movie ‘Moana’ will always serve a bigger purpose than just a film – it’s representation. Our Polynesian culture showcased to the world, and embraced by the world – with love, humility, warrior spirit and MANA.”
That representation was taken as a serious responsibility by the actors and creative team behind the scenes of Disney’s latest live-action remake.
“We got chosen for a reason,” Rena Owen, who plays Gramma Tala in the film, explains.
“Every single one of us, whether that’s an actor, whether that’s a creative, whether that’s a crew person. We’re raised that way, we’re raised in villages and we’re raised… on our earth, with our sky father and our moana, that’s what we all have in common. So, we just had to be ourselves.”
Disney once again leaned on members of its Oceanic Cultural Trust, a group formed over a decade ago to ensure cultural accuracy for the first “Moana” movie.
The trust’s lead consultant, Dr. Grant Muāgututiʻa, spoke about the work that went into bringing Moana to life on screen.
“We have a big responsibility to our folks who are gonna be watching the film. We’re elated that the film crew and the filmmakers were really receptive to all of the input that we had and we’re really happy with the way it turned out.”
Dr. Muāgututiʻa is a linguist by trade, serving as Assistant Professor of Linguistics at California State University San Marcos. He told KTLA he was thrilled that people of Samoan descent can hear their language spoken in a major Disney film.
“The mountaintop scene where you can hear both Jon Tui, who plays Chief Tui, and Catherine Laga’aia, who plays Moana speaking Samoan. And then the Siva Tau scene, where Seiuli Dwayne Johnson also speaks Samoan. I think those are special moments that are new, especially for our people to see. They’re able to experience real islanders that are proud of their culture.”
“Moana” Choreographer and Cultural Trust member Tiana Nonosina Liufau agreed.
“Seeing an all-Pasifika cast, and hearing them, there’s a lot of Mana in that, hearing these words come out of their mouth, something audiences can trace back to their genealogy, that’s priceless. All worth it.”
Los Angeles, Ca
LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture
Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.
Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.
Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.
“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”
The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.
A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.
The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.
“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.
The two men appeared to be uninjured.
As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.
LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.
The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.
Los Angeles, Ca
Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.
Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.
On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.
Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.
Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.
“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.
The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.
Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.
Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.
Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.
Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.
Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.
The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.
“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.
“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”
The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.
At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.
Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.
The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.
Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.
Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.
Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.
They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.
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