This is violence, hitting people with cars is violence. All Republicans need to denounce this political violence
— Alex “Test, Trace, Isolate” Lawson (@alaw202) October 31, 2020
Welcome to the richest country in the third world, where armed thugs in trucks take part in campaign interference and voter intimidation as the police willfully ignore the illegality.
From KEYE, a CBS news affiliate in Austin:
The Biden bus has also been closely followed by Trump supporters while on the road, though Texas Democrats insist their presence didn’t affect their decision to call off the downtown Austin rally.
As the Biden bus rolled down 11th street toward I-35, Trump supporters scrambled to their trucks to follow it. @cbsaustin pic.twitter.com/idnbDqFU3L
— Jordan Bontke (@JBontkeCBS) October 30, 2020
In Pflugerville, Texas House Representative Sheryl Cole tweeted the Biden bus was supposed to make a stop there with the Austin Young Democrats but she wrote they, too, had to cancel–but due to security reasons.
“Pro-Trump Protesters have escalated well beyond safe limits,” she posted.
She quoted a tweet from Texas House Rep Rafael Anchía, who claimed “Armed Trump trolls harassing Biden Bus on I-35, ramming volunteer vehicles & blocking traffic for 40 mins.”
Some more details: https://t.co/2Ecaqb1LjT
— Sheryl Cole (@SherylCole1) October 31, 2020
Multiple videos and images captured the bus being dangerously harassed by trucks. Dr. Eric Cervini, an author who says he flew to Texas to join the tour, said that he called the police as he witnessed the drivers’ behavior. According to him, the Trump supporters actively attempted to drive the bus off the road, and one officer on the scene wearing Thin Blue Line apparel refused to intervene, saying, “Not my jurisdiction.”
See all these pickup trucks with Trump flags? They were sitting along I-35, waiting to ambush the Biden/Harris campaign bus as it traveled from San Antonio to Austin. 2/
— Dr. Eric Cervini (@ericcervini) October 31, 2020
The police refused to help. When I flagged down one officer, he said his hands were tied: “not my jurisdiction.” He was wearing a blue stripe bandana. 4/
— Dr. Eric Cervini (@ericcervini) October 31, 2020
While Germany still had elections and Hitler was merely a disgraced politician, his militia of Brownshirts interrupted his opponents’ political meetings and incited violence on the streets. You know what happened next. 6/
— Dr. Eric Cervini (@ericcervini) October 31, 2020