The incident that put San Marcos Police Department officers in the spotlight in 2020 – and in the defendant’s chair in 2021 – made headlines again during a civil suit against participants in an attack on a Biden/Harris campaign bus. Proceedings in Cervini v Cisneros began in a federal court in Austin on Sept. 9. A verdict was handed down on Sept. 23 clearing all but one of the six defendants. 

The Texas Tribune reported that the seven-member jury found Eliazar Cisneros in violation of the Ku Klux Klan act of 1871 and ordered him to pay $30,000 in punitive damages to the plaintiffs (former Texas Senator Wendy Davis, David Gins, Timothy Holloway, and Eric Cervini) and another $10,000 in compensatory damages to Holloway, the bus driver. 

Cisneros and the other defendants – Joeylynn Mesaros, Robert Mesaros, Dolores Park, and Randi and Steve Ceh – faced counts of civil conspiracy and civil assault and violating the Klan act, which was enacted to protect people from conspiracies that would use “force, intimidation, or threat” to prevent the expression of political support. Two other defendants, Hannah Ceh and Kyle Kruger, agreed to a settlement, issued an apology, and were removed from the case. The defendants argued that their actions were expressions of free speech and political support of a candidate, not political violence, and that they did not plan the incident together. 

What Happened?

On Oct. 30, 2020, a Biden/Harris campaign bus made its way from San Antonio through New Braunfels to a planned event in San Marcos and later, an event in Austin. Court documents show that a number of supporters of presidential candidate Donald Trump had planned to meet the bus on I-35 and “escort” it. The Trump supporters surrounded the bus, at times driving dangerously close to it, and forced it to slow down. According to court documents, at times the bus was going only 15 miles per hour. All told, court documents show, the swarm of MAGA members surrounded and harassed the bus for 2 ½ hours.

According to court documents, as the bus moved out of the New Braunfels jurisdiction, San Marcos police were contacted by a New Braunfels dispatcher, a member of the Hays County Commissioners Court and, via 911, the campaign staffers themselves to alert them to the situation. The campaign staffers asked for help, but SMPD refused to send an escort. Instead, court documents show, SMPD officers and a dispatcher made jokes about the situation. 

Bob Klett, current assistant chief and interim police chief at the time of the incident, was suspended without pay for 8 hours as a reprimand for using a slur against people on the bus. According to a disciplinary letter to Klett from Chief Stan Standridge, obtained by the Examiner via public information request, “When a police commander texted you at 8:22 pm on the same date, asking ‘Did Kamala show,’ you responded, ‘No, just a couple other yards.’ You then sent another text clarifying the typo, stating, ‘Tards.’”

The resulting court case, Cervini v. Stapp, included SMPD officers Chase Stapp, Brandon Winkenwerder, and Matthew Daenzer as defendants. The case ended with a settlement under which the City of San Marcos paid out $175,000 and the police department was required to go through training on responding to political violence and a state law that dictates they be ‘“composed of capable personnel who are free from political influence,’” the settlement agreement shows. The three SMPD officers named in the case are not named in the settlement as paying any sort of fine or restitution.

The incident did not lead to any criminal charges for anyone, including the defendants in the Cervini v. Cisneros case.

Histories of Far-Right Activities

Several defendants and other parties in the most recent civil suit have histories of very public political activities linked with the far right. 

Cisneros made news in 2020 when he slowly drove his truck into a Black Lives Matter protest in San Antonio. KENS5 reported that Cisneros is a member of This Is Texas Freedom Force, a group whose members have shown up at other protests in the area. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the group as a statewide militia and lists it as one of 97 hate groups active in Texas in 2023. According to the complaint filed in Cervini v. Cisneros, he sideswiped an SUV accompanying the bus and later described it as “slamming that f**ker.”

Joeylynn Mesaros’s Instagram account includes audio and video of her speaking at a New Braunfels City Council meeting after several LGBTQ+ allies, including clergy, had spoken. She criticized the clergy for their stance on inclusivity and spoke about elected officials’ failure to remove books from the children’s section of the library that are “inappropriate” and “immoral.” The Mesaros requested donations online to help pay court costs related to this lawsuit, which they characterized as weaponization of the justice system against conservatives. 

In the instructions the Hon. Robert Pitman gave the jury, he stated that Cisneros and Joeylynn Mesaros “failed to comply with their discovery obligations” by deleting texts and other information relevant to the case. Pitman wrote that he found the two defendants “acted in bad faith” by deleting potential evidence. 

Perhaps the best known defendants from the trial are Steve and Randi Ceh, who founded the New Braunfels Trump Train. The group met weekly and drove through New Braunfels ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Steve Ceh told MyCanyonLake.com that members of the Trump Train were not concerned about safety because the Three Percenters – an armed militia with an anti-government ideology – rode with the group. Steve Ceh founded a church, Solomon’s Porch, in Canyon Lake and is listed as chaplain for the Comal County Republican Party. According to court documents, the Cehs were in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, as were other members of the New Braunfels Trump Train. 

A former San Marcos resident is not a party in the case but was listed by Cisneros as an “individual likely to have discoverable information.” Naomi Narvaiz, a prominent area Republican Party official, was subpoenaed and ordered to turn over numerous documents and communications. Among the information were “all documents and communications regarding the incident with any person or entity named or referenced in the complaint,” including the defendants and others, such as Stapp, Winkenwerder, Daenzer, the City of San Marcos, the SMPD, employees of the SMPD, and Donald Trump, Jr. 

Court documents show Narvaiz had been subpoenaed for much of the same information in the Cervini v. Stapp case.

Narvaiz ran in the Republican primary in 2018 for the District 45 seat in the Texas House of Representatives but lost. Like the Cehs, she was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, but as an elector, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

The Examiner acquired a trove of alleged communications about the incident that includes a screenshot of Narvaiz asking Randi Ceh what time the incident would be happening. 

Both the defendants and the plaintiffs considered the case a victory. 

The Texas Civil Rights Project, which helped represent the plaintiffs, said they were pleased the jury awarded punitive damages, which sends “a message to the public that threats, intimidation and violence have no place in American elections,” according to the Texas Tribune. 

Mesaros said despite feeling the trial was rigged, “I was refreshed that the jury was still able to see through” that. Her lawyer said they will file a motion to get their attorneys fees covered by the plaintiffs, estimating she and her husband spent up to $300,000 on the case, the Texas Tribune reported.

After the jury’s decision, Cisneros’ lawyer asked the judge to throw it out. If the judge declines, Cisneros can appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

BY ROBIN BLACKBURN