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CV NEWS FEED // In a decisive affirmation of free speech rights, the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a nonprofit public interest law firm, announced the complete exoneration of Dolores Park and four other defendants involved in the “Trump Train” lawsuit.
According to an October 2 news release from TMLC, the legal battle arose from an incident in October 2020 when a convoy of vehicles, dubbed the “Trump Train,” displayed support for then-President Donald Trump as they followed a Biden-Harris campaign bus on the I-35 expressway between San Antonio and Austin.
The plaintiffs, including former Texas Senator Wendy Davis, ex-Kamala Harris staffer David Gins, and bus driver Timothy Holloway, accused Park and her co-defendants of conspiring to impede the campaign bus under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and other state laws.
TMLC stated in their news release that,
With the enormous resources expended by the plaintiffs’ attorneys against the defendants and the timing of the lawsuit and jury trial, common sense points to the conclusion that the true goal of the lawsuit was to obtain a jury verdict against all the defendants to deter anyone from voicing public opposition to the Biden-Harris presidential campaign in 2024.
Despite the plaintiffs’ considerable legal firepower, which included a team of 28 attorneys from a major law firm and costly expert witnesses, a federal jury in Austin, Texas, found insufficient evidence to support the claims against Park.
Overall, according to the TLMC news release, the plaintiffs lost 17 of their 18 claims.
“It turned out to be a monumental victory for free speech and a monumental disaster for the Biden-Harris camp,” TLMC stated.
After hearing the verdict, Park said, “My prayers have been answered. I am truly grateful for the jury’s verdict,” according to the news release.
Park, a 62-year-old mother of four, has led a remarkable career, despite living with the chronic pain of fibromyalgia. Discovered by famed entertainer Bob Hope at age 18, she went on to perform for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, opened for various stars, and became a headliner on the Caribbean Cruise line before retiring 11 years ago.
Park shared in her testimony that she has been passionately pro-life since her 20s, after seeing “The Silent Scream,” a video of an ultrasound during an abortion.
“It’s one of those moments where you see something and you just never forget it,” Park told the jury.
The TMLC’s news release stated that “Mrs. Park has had to endure the exacerbation of her Fibromyalgia and the ignominy of facing the false charges that she conspired to block or stop the Biden-Harris bus, when her only goal was to support Donald Trump, ‘My pro-life President.’”
According to the news release, Erin Elizabeth Mersino, TMLC’s Chief of Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, said, “I have been trying cases since 2007 and this was one of the most difficult trials of my career.”
Mersino continued, “After pouring all the blood, sweat, and tears into this case that I could for the last several years, it is so wonderful for our client to hear the jury come back in her favor.”
