Southwest
'Trump Train' trial: Bus driver says he felt 'under attack' during interstate clash
!['Trump Train' trial: Bus driver says he felt 'under attack' during interstate clash 'Trump Train' trial: Bus driver says he felt 'under attack' during interstate clash](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Trump-Train-convoy.jpg)
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.
![Pick-up truck supporting Trump](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1726164805_676_x27Trump-Trainx27-trial-Bus-driver-says-he-felt-x27under-attackx27.jpg)
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
![Biden-Harris bus](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1726164805_109_x27Trump-Trainx27-trial-Bus-driver-says-he-felt-x27under-attackx27.jpg)
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
Khloe Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and more celebs react to earthquake near Malibu
![Khloe Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and more celebs react to earthquake near Malibu Khloe Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and more celebs react to earthquake near Malibu](https://ktla.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/10/GettyImages-1186820768-1.jpg?w=900)
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.6 rocked the Los Angeles area on Thursday morning.
Those who felt it immediately took to social media to check on what had happened, among those were some celebrities.
“Damn, that was a big one,” Khloe Kardashian posted to X, formerly Twitter. Kardashian resides in Hidden Hills, which is a gated community with the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s not exactly clear if the reality star was home at the time of the quake.
“That #Earthquake was scary,” wrote Paris Hilton to the platform.
Model and personality Amber Rose said the tremor was “the biggest earthquake” she had ever “experienced in California.” She then wrote that she hoped “everyone is ok!”
Actress and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Garcelle Beauvais said she was in bed when she felt the quake.
Like many L.A. residents, comedian and host Loni Love received an update on her iPhone.
“I felt it as soon as this message popped… hope folks are okay,” she posted to X.
The quake was initially reported as magnitude 5.1 before being downgraded to 4.6 and then ultimately 4.7. Several KTLA viewers reported feeling the quake in the Inland Empire, and the USGS impact map shows it was also felt in areas of Orange County, Santa Barbara County and San Diego County.
The quake was followed by at least two aftershocks measuring 2.8 and 3.4.
Los Angeles, Ca
Dangerous pursuit in Southern California hits speeds of 150 mph
![Dangerous pursuit in Southern California hits speeds of 150 mph Dangerous pursuit in Southern California hits speeds of 150 mph](https://ktla.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/09/pursuit-5-1.jpg?w=900)
Two men are in custody after a high-speed pursuit that hit speeds of 150 miles hours before coming to an end in Long Beach.
It’s unclear exactly when the pursuit was initiated, but the two suspects reportedly fled the scene of an illegal street takeover in East Los Angeles that police were clearing when the chase began.
Sky5 caught up to the pursuit moments after the driver transitioned from the 710 to the northbound 605 Freeway.
As CHP patrol cruisers attempted to get into position and catch up to the vehicle, the driver was clocked at speeds of 150 miles per hour while splitting lanes in traffic and blacking out the car’s headlights in an attempt to avoid detection by air units.
The suspect behind the wheel took the 22 Freeway into Long Beach and continued as it turned into East 7th Street, where he blew through traffic lights, eventually turning onto Havana Avenue.
It appeared that CHP had lost track of the suspect until a short time later when units searching for the suspects pulled up on the vehicle parked along the side of the road under a tree.
Officers quickly surrounded the car with guns drawn.
The driver complied with officers’ commands, opening the vehicle door with hands up and surrendering, followed moments later by the passenger.
Both men were arrested and put in the back of CHP patrol vehicles when Sky5 left the scene.
Southwest
'Sugar Daddy’ suspect at center of college student's murder probe
!['Sugar Daddy’ suspect at center of college student's murder probe 'Sugar Daddy’ suspect at center of college student's murder probe](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/pandey-thumb.jpg)
Texas authorities tracked down a suspect in the murder of a 21-year-old nursing student after a tipster recognized the accused killer from his profile on a “Sugar Daddy” website.
Muna Pandey, a Nepalese nursing student at Houston Community College, was found dead with gunshot wounds in her Houston apartment on Monday, Aug. 26.
One of her neighbors later told police that they heard a “loud thump” coming from her apartment on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 24, which was also when Pandey was last seen alive by friends and family.
An unknown male allegedly called her building manager to notify him that there was a dead body in her unit, then quickly hung up, according to a criminal complaint obtained by People.
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Bobby Singh Shah, 51, was arrested by the Houston Police Department on capital murder charges. (Houston Police Department)
Two days later, 51-year-old Bobby Singh Shah was arrested and charged with capital murder, the Houston Police Department wrote in a statement.
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Pandey’s friend told police that the young woman had previously been stalked, leading to her purchase of a security camera. Ultimately, Pandey’s security footage led police to Shah, according to the complaint.
SUSPECT IN CUSTODY AFTER TEXAS CONSTABLE DEPUTY SHOT, KILLED AT RED LIGHT BY ‘ASSAILANT’: POLICE
Security footage from Aug. 24 shows Pandey at her front door with shopping bags when a man – who police now believe is Shah – forcing her into the apartment at gunpoint. An hour later, Shah is allegedly seen leaving the apartment with one of the bags.
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After police released the security footage, Pandey’s former employer at an area restaurant called, telling them that the man in the footage resembled Shah, who was a regular patron at his establishment.
On Aug. 28, a woman called to tell Houston Police that she “instantly” recognized the man in the footage as Shah from a “Sugar Daddy” website, according to the complaint.
DRUNK TEXAS WOMAN ATTEMPTED TO DROWN GIRL, THREE, AND HURT HER BROTHER, SIX, BECAUSE THEY WERE MUSLIM: INDICTMENT
![Bobby Singh Shah allegedly enters Muna Pandey's apartment](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1726111770_367_x27Sugar-Daddy-suspect-at-center-of-college-studentx27s-murder-probe.jpg)
A still from Pandey’s home surveillance system that was disseminated by the Houston Police Department and led to their identification of Bobby Singh Shah. (Fox 26 Houston)
Shah was apprehended in a traffic stop on Wednesday, Houston Police wrote in their statement. He is being held without bond, according to Harris County District Court records.
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Attorneys listed for him did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“He’s excited to get this case over with so he can prove his innocence,” Shah’s defense attorney, Wilvin Carter, told KHOU 11.
A GoFundMe initiative has been set up for Pandey’s mother to cover her travel from Nepal to Houston and for her only child’s funeral expenses.
“No mother should have to face such heartbreak, especially from so far away,” reads the fundraiser.
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