Texas police officers would not escort the Biden campaign bus that was getting surrounded by Donald Trump supporters, a federal lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says that San Marcos officers would not give police escort for the Biden bus and “joked about the Democratic victims and their anxiety” in 911 audio from Oct. 2020, when the bus was surrounded. The federal lawsuit included a new transcription of the 911 phone call.
“I am so annoyed about New Braunfels doing this to us,” a dispatcher said to San Marcos officer Matthew Daenzer, who laughed, as reported by the transcription of the call. “They have their people escorting Biden, essentially, and the Trump Train is going in between cars and driving — being aggressive and then slowing down to like 20 or 30 miles an hour. And they want you to come with help.”
“No, we are not going to do it,” Daenzer said to the dispatcher, according to the lawsuit. “We will ‘close patrol’ it, but we are not going to escort the bus.”
Video of the incident reveals vehicles with pro-Trump signs surrounding the Biden bus and blowing their horns. A small collision was even reported when a pro-Trump car made contact with an SUV that was near the Biden bus, as reported by Fox News.
“They are like really worked up and he is breathing hard and stuff, like, ‘they are being really aggressive.’ Okay. Calm down,” the dispatcher said to Daenzer about the Biden presidential team’s reaction to the Trump supporters. Daenzer reportedly said that the Biden bus should “drive defensively and it will be great.”
The dispatcher replied to the Biden team that they would not get an escort but “If you feel like you are getting threatened or your life is in danger, definitely call us back.”
The Biden team insisted on an escort, saying their lives were in danger.
“Are you kidding me, ma’am?” the staffer replied to the dispatcher, according to transcripts, “they have threatened my life on many occasions with vehicular collision.”
The dispatcher turned down the Biden team’s request again.
The lawsuit, filed against Chase Stapp, the San Marcos Director of Public Safety and the San Marcos City Marshal’s Dept., alleges that the city went against the “Ku Klux Klan Act,” passed back in 1871, originally meant to guard black people from political violence from the Klan, as the Texas Tribune reported.
Author: Steven Sinclaire
