SAN MARCOS (Texas) Police officers in a Central Texas town refused to provide an escort when a Joe Biden campaign vehicle was surrounded on an interstate by supporters of Donald Trump. This is according to an amended lawsuit that was filed about the encounter.
The Texas Tribune reported that the updated lawsuit included transcriptions of 911 audio recordings. According to the suit, San Marcos law enforcement officers laughed and joked privately about the victims' distress in the audio recordings.
A request from the newspaper for comment was not returned by San Marcos. Previous statements from a spokesperson indicated that San Marcos Police Department and the city would not comment on the litigation.
From Oct. 30, 2020, videos shared on social media show a group car and pickup truck with large Trump flags, riding along the campaign bus from San Antonio to Austin. Sometimes, the Trump Train boxed in to the bus. One time, one pickup collided with the SUV behind the bus.
Biden's bus was on its way to San Marcos for an event that Democrats had to cancel. Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris were not onboard. After the FBI said it was investigating, then-President Donald Trump criticised the FBI.
According to transcriptions, the Biden bus entered San Marcos' jurisdiction when a New Braunfels 911 dispatcher attempted to get San Marcos police involved in taking over the New Braunfels escort along Interstate 35. According to the documents, a police corporal informed a San Marcos dispatcher that we weren't going to escort any bus.
One bus passenger was told by the dispatcher to call back if he felt threatened.
The caller responded, "Are you kidding me maam?" Multiple times they have pounced on me. Multiple times, they have threatened my life with vehicle collision.
According to documents, Chase Stapp (public safety director) later texted police to say that the Biden bus never left I-35 because of the Trump escort.
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Four days later, a report on the incident stated that police didn't provide an escort because of staffing issues and lack of planning time.
Lisa Prewitt, an ex-San Marcos City Councilmember who was a candidate to the county commission at that time, said that she had notified local police 24 hours prior to the event and raised safety concerns.
The lawsuit claims that the police and city broke an 1871 law, commonly known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. It was originally created to prevent political violence against Blacks. The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.
