Southwest
Cleared 'Trump Train' defendants liken their case to 'lawfare' campaign against former president
Defendants in the so-called “Trump Train” case in Texas say they have been fully vindicated after they were cleared of voter intimidation allegations in relation to a highway interaction nearly four years ago when a convoy of Trump supporters in pickup trucks and SUVs surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus on a busy highway.
Three of the defendants – Steve and Randi Ceh, along with Joeylynn Mesaros – spoke to Fox News Digital, detailing the hellish years they endured fighting back against what they say was an attempt to stifle their political speech and attack their First Amendment rights.
They say the case was a “lawfare” campaign against them and likened it to recent court cases brought against former President Trump. The trio, along with two others, had their charges dismissed by a federal jury.
‘TRUMP TRAIN’ TRIAL KICKS OFF WITH FORMER DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER TESTIFYING SHE FELT LIKE A ‘HOSTAGE’
Trump train trial defendants celebrate outside court. (Jay Janner/American-Statesman/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Eliazar Cisneros, whose pickup collided with a white SUV in a caught-on-camera incident, was ordered to pay the bus driver $10,000 and an additional $30,000 in punitive damages. The collision, and the alleged aggressive behavior from the convoy, occurred on Oct. 30, 2020, when the bus passed through San Marcos, about 30 miles southwest of Austin.
The trio tell Fox News Digital that the incident was largely uneventful and that the bus and the SUV were swerving in and out of traffic. They say the collision was minor and that it was blown up by the media and taken out of context to paint Trump supporters as extremists.
“It was very friendly. I actually have tons of video of friendly encounters where we’re waving on the side of the road, smiling, the bus is just driving, and the trucks are driving behind it,” Mesaros recalled. “Through the lawsuit, we did identify there were maybe one or two vehicles that were driving in a way that we wouldn’t have driven. I think at worst, it’s maybe a traffic citation, not anything major or extreme, certainly not a conspiracy under the Ku Klux Klan law to intimidate voters. But those people weren’t sued, it was just intentionally us [and] I think that we were targeted as what they perceived maybe to be easy targets, but they couldn’t have imagined that God would sustain us in this fight and we would prevail.”
The plaintiffs accused the Trump supporters of assault and political intimidation tactics, violating state law and the federal Enforcement Act of 1871 – also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act – which aims to stop political violence and intimidation tactics. The law was enacted by Congress during the Reconstruction era to protect the rights of Black men to vote by prohibiting political violence. No criminal charges were filed against the six Trump supporters.
The driver of the Biden-Harris campaign bus told jurors during the trial that he felt “under attack” and feared for his life when the bus was swarmed by the convoy. He said the actions of the group forced him to slow the bus to a 15 mph crawl on the busy highway.
The driver, along with former Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, a campaign volunteer and a staffer, sued the six defendants, with Davis testifying that she felt like she was being “taken hostage in a way.”
The plaintiffs say the group drove recklessly and attempted to run the bus off the road and forced them to cancel the campaign event they were headed to. Davis also described the verdict as vindicating and a relief.
‘TRUMP TRAIN’ TRIAL: DEFENDANT SAYS CONVOY USING ‘FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT’ DURING HIGHWAY CLASH
In terms of the on-road collision, Cisneros’ attorney says he will appeal. In the incident, Cisneros’ pickup and a Biden campaign SUV collided while trailing the bus, although nobody was hurt.
Cisneros denied driving recklessly and argued 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. Cisneros testified that a social media post by him afterward bragging about “slamming” the other vehicle had been taken out of context.
A pickup with Trump flags alongside a Biden-Harris campaign bus. (John Hinojosa via Storyful)
The Cehs say they were dragged into the lawsuit because they ran a Facebook page that helped organize Trump parades in the New Braunfels area, which Mesaros would also take part in.
They say they were aware the bus was going to be around that day, but they were on their way back from work when they came across it.
“I was in a company truck, so I did see it go by, and we weren’t pulled into this lawsuit until a year and a half after it was filed,” Steve said. “And that is because we organized a Trump train here in New Braunfels that got pretty big, it was all grassroots. And also, I am a pastor, so the mainstream regime that we see wants to shut down all the truth. Anybody that opposes them, they want to shut it down, or they want to instill fear in all of us, so we do not speak up against them. And we just can’t do that.”
Speaking to reporters after the Trump Train trial are, from left, bus driver Tim Holloway, David Gins, a former campaign staffer for Joe Biden, and former state Sen. Wendy Davis, in downtown Austin on Sept. 23, 2024. (Jay Janner/American-Statesman/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
He added, “I don’t want my grandkids to grow up in a Marxist society and right now it’s leaning that way.”
Randi says the prosecution painted her as being “mission control” for organizing the event when she notified the Facebook group ahead of time. The group had as many as 5,000 followers, she says.
“I was asked… to make a post that the Biden bus was coming through and if anybody wanted to peacefully follow it, they could. And so I put the post out, went to work and found out later that I was going to be sued for being mission control,” Randi Ceh said.
Joeylynn Mesaros says the case was more than political persecution and that the prosecution tried to circumvent the Constitution to make its case. She says her family owed about $75,000 in legal fees, which they now intend to sue to recoup. The Cehs’ legal fees were covered by the nonprofit Citizens Defending Freedom.
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A Trump supporter in a pickup tails a Biden-Harris campaign bus in 2020. (John Hinojosa via Storyful)
“We’re getting the same treatment that President Trump does. We’ve got the gag order, we have the unfair jurisdiction, the biased Obama-appointed judge. We’ve got the motions in limine that prevent us from speaking the whole truth. They’re not allowing us to reference the Constitution, they’re watering down the definition of free speech,” Mesaros said. “So by the time the jury gets its instructions, it’s such a rigged sham trial. It’s a complete joke and a mockery of the judicial system to leverage for their own political gain.”
Mesaros says the case was even referenced in Trump’s impeachment trial and his 14th Amendment hearing to label his followers as political extremists or having extremist tendencies.
“So not only are they interfering with the Constitution, interfering with the election, they’re creating lies, hiring experts to substantiate it and then cross cross-hatching them in all of their lawsuits to substantiate their own claims while we’re collateral damage.”
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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, admitted to having an affair with a former staffer for the first time on Wednesday.
Gonzales made the confession during an appearance on a conservative talk radio show, just one day after he advanced to a runoff election in his congressional district’s GOP primary. The House Ethics Committee also launched an investigation into Gonzales on Wednesday.
“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” he said on “The Joe Pags Show” Wednesday night. “Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife, Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever.”
“When you make mistakes like this, it’s never easy. It humbles you,” he added.
Regina Santos-Aviles, a staffer for Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, died Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Uvalde, Texas. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images | Regina Santos-Aviles Facebook)
The Ethics Committee is investigating whether Gonzales, a married father of six, engaged in sexual misconduct with a female member of his staff and whether he doled out special favors or privileges as a result.
Gonzales has said he has no plan to step down in the face of the accusations, saying last month that there are more details to be released regarding the situation.
“What you’ve seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales told reporters in late February.
REP TONY GONZALES HIT WITH HOUSE ETHICS PROBE OVER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, has denied having anything to do with his former staffer’s death. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The three-term congressman argued at the time that he was being “blackmailed” in connection with the case. Controversy first arose after the San Antonio Express-News reported they obtained text messages in which the former staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with the lawmaker.
Santos-Aviles later died after setting herself on fire.
Gonzales denied having anything to do with her death during his radio appearance.
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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is interviewed by CQ-Roll Call. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“I hadn’t spoken with Miss Santos since June of 2024. She passed September of 2025… I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing. And in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales took to social media last month and accused Santos-Aviles’ husband of “blackmail,” sharing a partial screenshot of an email from the widower and claiming he was seeking money.
“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” Gonzales wrote in a Feb. 19 post on X. “Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death.”
In the email posted by Gonzales, attorney Robert Barrera discussed a possible lawsuit against the lawmaker and a potential settlement with a nondisclosure agreement. The email says that the maximum recoverable amount is $300,000.
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Barrera denied he was trying to blackmail Gonzales.
“It is a desperate attempt to make him look again like a political victim,” Barrera told The Associated Press last month. “There’s no blackmail here. I mean, it’s just ridiculous allegations.”
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Southwest
Nancy Guthrie’s abductor may have returned to the crime scene, left critical clues at tribute: expert
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TUCSON, Ariz. — As a growing memorial outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson-area home continues to draw visitors, new questions are emerging about whether investigators are monitoring the site.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been abducted from her home in the early hours of Feb. 1.
“They could [have eyes on the memorial], we’re just not seeing it,” Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association and a retired police sergeant, tells Fox News Digital. “They could be keeping track of it, but we’re not seeing the cameras.”
Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson home on Feb. 1. (Getty Images)
Yellow flowers, handwritten notes, artwork and even an open letter addressed to the “kidnapper” have been left at the makeshift tribute in front of her home.
While the memorial grows, however, visible law enforcement presence has significantly dropped.
“Detectives are reviewing all viable leads in this case,” a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital. “We do not speak to specifics, as this is still an ongoing investigation.”
Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect, vehicle or any persons of interest.
MULTIPLE SUSPECTS ARE POSSIBLE IN NANCY GUTHRIE’S ABDUCTION
Haunting Nest doorbell camera video shows a masked man on Nancy Guthrie’s front steps around the time of her abduction. He is described as being of average height and build and was wearing a black Ozark Trail backpack.
“In this type of situation where you have the potential for a suspect having done this because he or she is somehow obsessed with Savannah Guthrie or seeing Nancy featured on the ‘Today’ show multiple times… someone who is obsessed with notoriety, celebrity — there’s a lot of pathology involved in that,” Brantner Smith said.
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A member of the Pima County Sheriff’s office was seen outside of Nancy Guthrie’s home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (Ty O’Neil/AP Photo; Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
“Potentially, that is the type of person that could come back to the memorial, look at the memorial, even take photos of the memorial and add to the memorial themselves.”
As to why there’s been an alleged lack of law enforcement presence monitoring the site, Brantner Smith pointed to one likely scenario.
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“It may be because they have solid suspects, and they just haven’t released that information to the public,” she said.
It’s not uncommon for an offender to return to the crime scene, she added.
A growing vigil in the morning light under cloudy skies is seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home on February 13, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Ty O’Neil/AP Photo)
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“Sometimes the offender will come back to the scene of the crime. So, in that vein, they would come to the memorial, and they may have left their own note, their own flowers,” she said.
Often, it’s a mark of their arrogance, she told Fox News Digital.
“I am guessing that the suspect or suspects who did this are frankly taking great pride in the fact that so far they’ve got away with it,” she added. “Coming back can also be a way to bring back that rush that they had when they originally committed the crime.”
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Such behavior happens frequently in arson cases, she said.
Deputies examine a flyer taped to Nancy Guthrie’s mailbox on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. They were called to the scene after volunteer searchers and several streamers walked onto Guthrie’s property with a shovel. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
“But it’s also not untypical in a homicide case or, in this case, a missing person,” she continued. “We’ve got to look at the psychology of people who do this kind of stuff. They also may want to come back to see what kind of people are leaving notes and leaving flowers.”
For that reason, she said, investigators should be reading the notes to develop potential leads.
“They’re coming back to see the impact that they had on this neighborhood and on this family,” she said. “And the rest of us would view that as very sick, but law enforcement has to view that as a way to collect clues.”
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Savannah, her sister Annie, and brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, placed flowers at the growing tribute near the foot of Nancy’s driveway on Monday in a somber visit to the crime scene.
Annie Guthrie, her husband Tommaso Cioni, and Savannah Guthrie at their missing mother Nancy Guthrie’s home on Monday, March 2, in Tucson, Arizona. (Fox News)
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A combined reward for information that leads to Nancy’s recovery from the FBI, local authorities and the Guthrie family stands at over $1 million. It has not yet been claimed.
Savannah is asking anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has endorsed Texas state Rep. Steve Toth, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw in the Lone Star State’s 2nd Congressional District Republican primary.
“I am proud to endorse @SteveTothTX for Congress in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District. Steve faithfully served the people of Texas in the Texas House of Representatives, championing our Texas values of liberty, limited government, and constitutional governance,” Cruz said in a post on X.
“Steve is an unwavering fighter for school choice, fiscal responsibility, and the next generation of Americans. Washington needs bold leadership and representatives who will stand up for Texans at every turn,” Cruz continued.
Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw speaks during a showcase hosted by TerraFlow in Houston Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
“Steve has the experience, the courage, and the conviction to do just that. I’m honored to support his campaign and urge voters in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District to join me in electing Steve Toth to Congress,” he added.
While President Donald Trump has not made an endorsement in the race, he previously backed Toth for Texas state House in 2022 and 2024.
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Texas House incumbent Rep. Steve Toth gives a brief statement before the start of a gubernatorial debate held at Grace Woodlands Church and put on by the True Texas Project on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022 in Spring, Texas. (Michael Wyke/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
“State Representative Steve Toth is doing a fantastic job representing Texas State House District 15. A Small Business Owner and an Ordained Minister, Steve is fighting tirelessly to Secure our Elections, Grow the Economy, Eliminate Needless Regulations, Strengthen the Border, Support our Great Military/Veterans, and Protect and Defend our under siege Second Amendment. Steve Toth has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump wrote in a 2024 Truth Social post.
The last day of early voting for Texas’ March 3 primary contests is Friday, according to the Texas Secretary of State website.
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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, arrives for the cloture vote on the government funding bill in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Crenshaw has served in Congress since early 2019.
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