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A caravan of Trump supporters in pickup trucks that delighted Donald Trump by invading a Democratic campaign bus on a Texas highway arrived armed, according to a state representative and a witness.
“Armed Trump Trolls Harass Biden Bus on I35, Ramming Volunteer Vehicles, and Blocking Traffic for 40 Minutes”, Texas state representative Rafael Anchía wrote on Twitter.
Historian Eric Cervini, who had flown to Texas to help out with the vote-out efforts, posted a video on Instagram showing a long line of cars with Trump paraphernalia stopped along the road, waiting for the Biden-Harris bus. .
“These Trump supporters, many of whom were armed, surrounded the bus on the interstate and tried to pull it off the road,” he wrote, adding: “As a historian who studied the rise of the Third Reich, I can tell you: this is how a democracy dies. ”.
The ambush, which took place Friday as the bus was traveling from San Antonio to Austin to wrap up a three-day tour, included a collision between a white pickup and a black pickup, San Marcos police confirmed, though it was not yet clear who. caused the collision. Officers had tried to provide a police escort for the Biden-Harris bus, but were unable to reach it due to traffic.
Even as dramatic footage from the scene caused widespread alarm, President Donald Trump gave his support behind the so-called Trump train, tweeting “I LOVE TEXAS!”
On Sunday, he asked supporters at a rally in Michigan: “Did you see the way our people… were… protecting this bus… because they are kind? They had hundreds of cars. Triumph! Triumph! Trump and the American flag. “
Trump also said that Biden’s supporters lacked that spirit and enthusiasm.
A Republican official from Texas, Naomi Narvaiz, he applauded the caravan’s tactic to force the bus out: “Your kind are not welcome here!”
“The funniest thing I’ve ever seen man!” A Facebook user filming from New Braunfels laughed in a video posted Friday. “They are literally escorting him out of town.”
A spokeswoman for Living Blue in Comal County, a local progressive group, told The Guardian that the incident was a reflection of larger problems in the area, where “racist” locals “simply run this town, as did the Klan “.
The spokeswoman, who asked to remain anonymous because she was afraid of being attacked, added: “They have dragged the BLM flag. People have been called the N word from their truck. So it’s harassment and bullying. And then to see President Trump validate them by retweeting his video and saying he loves Texas, he’s basically backing national terrorism. “
Amid security concerns, Democrats in Texas canceled multiple events. According to the Texas Tribune, the FBI was investigating.
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, had previously encouraged members of the Trump train in Texas to “get out” and “have fun” at the expense of vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who was campaigning in the state but not in the bus when the incident occurred.
With two days to Election Day, Texas is close, Trump leads Biden by 1.5 points, according to the average of FiveThirtyEight.com polls.
Tariq Thowfeek, Texas communications director for the Biden campaign, said in a statement: “Instead of engaging in a productive conversation about the drastically different visions that Joe Biden and Donald Trump have for our country, Trump supporters in Texas decided putting our staff, substitutes, supporters and others in harm’s way. “
US Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat representing voters from San Antonio to Austin, said: “This aggressive and abusive behavior by his supporters is because Trump continues to incite acts of intimidation and violence. We have to confront these bullies just as we seek to protect the right of all Texans to vote against the bully-in-chief. “
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