Trump Supporters Swarm Biden Campaign Bus On Texas Highway

A caravan of flag-waving Trump supporters surrounded a Biden campaign bus on the highway, boxing it in at one point.
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Supporters of President Donald Trump used their personal vehicles — decked out with campaign gear — to swarm a stretch of highway outside Austin, Texas, Friday in an apparent attempt to bully a Biden-Harris campaign bus and drive Democratic activists off the road.

Trump applauded the dangerous stunt in a tweet on Saturday, gushing “I LOVE TEXAS!”

Photos and video of the incident from different angles showed a line of pickup trucks waving Trump 2020 flags pull onto the left shoulder of Interstate Highway 35 as the bus approached. Other images appeared to show the same vehicles surround the bus, box it in and force it to reduce its speed.

One of the Trump supporters went so far as to hit a white SUV driven by a Democratic campaign staffer, Katie Naranjo, chair of the Travis County Democratic Party, said in a tweet that included a photo of the scuffed and dented vehicle. No injuries were reported.

“They ran into a person’s car, yelling curse words and threats,” Naranjo wrote.

She added: “Don’t let bullies win, vote.”

Others, such as Texas state Rep. Rafael Anchia, alleged that the Trump supporters carried guns.

A white hearse was also reportedly seen among the vehicles as part of the Trump caravan.

A rally planned for later in the afternoon was canceled due to the safety threat posed by the Trump gang, Naranjo and Democratic Texas state Rep. Sheryl Cole both said in social media posts. The decision was made out of an abundance of caution in the face of the Trump supporters’ aggression. Law enforcement assisted the Biden bus when it arrived at its destination to ensure passengers’ safety.

Speakers at the event were to include U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and former U.S. Rep. Wendy Davis, who is running for Congress again this term.

Texas Democrats, however, said in a statement to CBS Austin that the event was canceled so as not to divert attention from Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who was speaking elsewhere in the state.

CBS Austin reporters witnessed Trump supporters confront the Biden campaign bus at another point Friday afternoon, this time in a parking lot where they waved signs accusing the Biden family of being communists. Reporter Jordan Bontke said a group of Trump supporters then “scrambled to their trucks” to follow the bus.

Local reporters also captured gaggles of Trump supporters ― some with truck details showing support for the conspiracy theory QAnon ― follow the Biden bus around Texas earlier in the week.

The incidents are not isolated. Voters across the country have reported seeing crowds and caravans of Trump supporters honking, jeering and waving flags near polling places as early voting began.

(State and local laws vary on how close such activity can be to polling places or what constitutes illegal voter intimidation.)

One video posted to social media purported to show police in Fort Worth, Texas, accompany Trump supporters Friday as they sidled up to a polling place in a predominantly Black neighborhood. HuffPost could not independently verify the video’s content.

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