August 6, 2024
Willkie is pro bono counsel in a case brought by individuals on a Biden-Harris campaign bus who were allegedly ambushed by a convoy of Donald Trump supporters on a Texas highway in the run-up to the 2020 election. The case will proceed to trial after a court denied defendants’ summary judgment motions, and the trial is set to begin on September 9th, 2024. A jury will be asked to determine if individuals who allegedly conspired to carry out the coordinated ambush violated Texas state law, as well as the federal Enforcement Act of 1871 (also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act)—a law Congress passed to end political violence and voter intimidation.
The suit, Cervini v. Cisneros, is being brought by Protect Democracy, the Texas Civil Rights Project, and Willkie on behalf of three plaintiffs—bus driver Tim Holloway, former elected official Wendy Davis, and former campaign staffer David Gins. Holloway, Davis, and Gins were on the Biden-Harris campaign bus when it was ambushed by a self-described “Trump Train” on I-35 between San Antonio and Austin on the last day of early voting.
Read the more about the case here.
Willkie and its co-counsel previously represented plaintiffs in a second complaint, Cervini v. Stapp, filed against law enforcement officials who turned a blind eye to the highway attack and failed to provide the campaign bus a police escort. That case was settled in 2023, with the agreement including an admission that local law enforcement fell short of its policing standards, mandatory training for all officers, and compensations for the victims. Read the more about that case here.
The Willkie pro bono team consisted of partners Robert Meyer and Samuel Hall, counsel Aaron Nathan, and associates Rebecca Heath, Madeleine Tayer, Jamielah Yancey, Christina Peck, Amy Orlov, Noah Mussmon, and Lindsay Kirschner. They were joined by co-counsel from Protect Democracy and the Texas Civil Rights Project.
