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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Long Beach will hold a pride festival this weekend after the one they originally had scheduled was canceled.
Long Beach city officials said the celebration was nixed after the nonprofit that organizes it, Long Beach Pride, failed to submit the required information for an event permit.
It was supposed to start on Friday and last through Sunday.
“Despite continued collaboration and multiple deadline notices, the City did not receive the required documentation needed to complete safety reviews, inspect critical event infrastructure, such as the stage, electrical systems and tent, and emergency exiting plans to ensure compliance with public safety standards,” the city of Long Beach said in a statement. “With event programming scheduled to begin on May 15 at 5 p.m. with Teen Pride and essential information still outstanding, there is no longer sufficient time to safely permit the festival this year.”
Officials noted that they were working to see if a “shortened event” could be held this weekend, and indeed, an agreement was reached to stage a one-day gathering on Sunday.
Billed as “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” and emceed by comedian and drag queen Jewels, it will still bring the city’s LGBTQ community together after Sunday morning’s Long Beach Pride Parade, which was not canceled.
“Long Beach Pride weekend is a culmination of celebrations put on by our community, including our many vibrant restaurants, bars and businesses, and that will never change,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a press release issued late Saturday night. “Along with the Pride Parade, we are proud to join the party with this new event that reaffirms what this City has always stood for: that every person belongs here.”
“The festival may have been canceled, but Long Beach drag artists don’t cancel joy,” added Jewels Long Beach.
The one-day “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” festival will take place at Bixby Park from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. A free event, it will include music by several performers and a drag show.
More information can be found here.
Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
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