The Battle For Free Speech: A Homeschool Mom's Fight Against Political Censorship
Told by Joeylynn Mesaros
Last week, several followers on Instagram reached out wanting to bring Joeylynn Mesaros' story to my attention. After a long phone call, I received this post in my inbox. Trial kicked off this afternoon, with a jury set to decide whether a group of Trump supporters violated state and federal laws by allegedly harassing a Biden campaign bus on a Texas highway in 2020. The media has largely told one side of this story. Today, I’m giving Joeylynn space here to share hers.
What started as a typical suburban mom who loved shopping at Target while sipping Starbucks, just dipping my toe into the world of politics, has grown into a four-year legal battle for every American’s free speech rights. I never would have imagined finding myself here.
My name is Joeylynn Mesaros, a homeschool mom from New Braunfels, TX. My husband, Robert, is a plumber. Together with four others, including a pastor and his wife, a Grandma, and a veteran, we are being sued by Biden-Harris White House officials, Democratic politicians, and liberal influencers under the Ku Klux Klan Law of 1871. Plaintiffs claim we caused them "emotional damage" simply by exercising free speech—driving down a public highway with Trump flags on our vehicle in a caravan of Trump supporters while the Biden-Harris campaign bus passed through Texas on October 30, 2020. Claiming our presence on the highway in support of President Trump was reminiscent of the "hooded Ku Klux Klan on horseback" and demonstrates white supremist tendencies and poses a threat to democracy. No criminal charges were filed, as no laws were broken; this is a civil suit in federal court. This is my story.
Just a few years ago, I didn’t even realize I had a right to free speech, let alone where to find it written and guaranteed. In early 2020, as the election season ramped up, I was unsure whether I’d vote for Joe Biden or Donald Trump. But when I tried to talk about the decision with progressive friends, I was quickly told to "sit in silence" and atone for my white privilege. It was in that moment that I knew I needed new friends—and a new perspective. I had noticed a meet up of vehicles that paraded weekly in our small town of New Braunfels, TX called the “Trump Train,” and thought that might be a good place to start.
The Trump Train was more than just a parade of vehicles adorned with Trump and American flags. It was a vibrant display of political support, a beacon of enthusiasm as the 2020 election approached. We joined the excitement, feeling a sense of freedom to express our views that I hadn’t experienced before. Surrounded by like-minded people, we could show support for Donald Trump without the intolerance I had encountered in other circles.
Before long, the Trump Train became a phenomenon. Local news stations began covering our rapidly growing group with helicopter and drone footage, capturing thousands of supporters lining up to join. Each weekend, the procession seemed to swell in size, and I felt encouraged by this newfound way of publicly displaying support for a political candidate—something I would later learn was a constitutional right to "peaceably assemble."
On Friday afternoon, October 30, 2020, we saw a Facebook post that the Biden-Harris campaign bus would be driving through our town as part of its tour through Texas. Naturally, we wanted to show our support for President Trump. The idea was simple: maybe he’d see us driving by with our Trump flags on the news and know that Texas was behind him. Little did we know, our actions that day would indeed catch his attention—President Trump even tweeted about it, saying, “I LOVE TEXAS!”
But what we didn’t realize was that this moment would also land us on the radar of the mainstream media. And our lives were about to change in ways we couldn’t have imagined.
What started as a proud display of free speech, a peaceful parade of support, was quickly twisted by the media into something sinister. Headlines blared that Trump supporters had “run the Biden bus off the road,” which simply never happened. The lies spiraled out of control, and suddenly, we were national news—for all the wrong reasons.
The parade of vehicles driving alongside the Biden Bus caught the attention of local news, which soon spiraled into national coverage. Mainstream media seized the moment, exaggerating every detail, distorting the truth, and outright lying. Headlines blared outrageous claims like, “Trump supporters ran the Biden bus off the road," – which literally never happened . Public figures like Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin on The View stated “Trump has emboldened bigots and racists to come out from under their rocks”, even likening us to a scene from Mississippi Burning. Hosten continues creating civil unrest in her closing statement imploring the audience, “This is what it’s about: racism, hatred and bigotry.”
The media's blatant misrepresentation of events fueled a narrative that Trump supporters were a dangerous fringe element. This false narrative was used to influence voters and vilify anyone who supported Trump, persuading voters to in turn support Joe Biden.
It was deeply painful to watch prominent figures fabricate stories about us, twisting the truth into something unrecognizable. We felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness, as if we were shouting into a void, with no voice to defend ourselves or reveal what really happened that day. The truth was simple: we exercised our right to free speech by supporting a political candidate on a public highway—just as the Biden Bus had. There was no intent to intimidate, no premeditated conspiracy, and certainly no plan of assault, as the plaintiffs falsely claimed. In fact, not even a traffic citation was issued. But the worst was yet to come, and the sense of helplessness that followed would be even deeper.
Video Footage From Inside the Bus:
After the buzz had quieted down and life seemingly returned to normal, during the summer of 2021, I was by the pool with my son and a couple of friends on a warm summer day. I received a phone call from a friend who had just heard on CNN that my husband Robert and I, along with several other Texans were being sued for previously driving next to the Biden Bus. My body went cold, I didn’t understand what it meant to be sued – I didn’t understand the difference between civil and criminal matters, and I immediately panicked that my husband and I would be ripped away from our precious child who was carelessly splashing in the pool, like we had seen in the case of so many J6 political prisoners.
This civil lawsuit, brought forth by Biden’s White House officials, Democratic politicians, and campaign staffers, claimed that our exercise of free speech had caused them emotional damage. They filed the lawsuit under the Ku Klux Klan Law of 1871 claiming to “dust off the Klan Act to hold accountable” those who “undermine democracy” and to “deter future bad actors”. The irony was palpable—using an archaic law designed to protect ordinary Americans against racial violence brought by “State Actors” or government officials, now being used by State Actors to target ordinary Americans for their political beliefs.
The plaintiffs claimed they were 'afraid for their lives' as we drove alongside them on a public highway. However, video footage obtained during discovery tells a very different story from inside the Biden Bus. The bus driver can be clearly heard saying he wants to run Trump supporters 'the f*ck off the highway' and 'put the bus’s bumper right on their a** and push it.' He is also heard planning with Wendy Davis to 'block both lanes' with the bus, straddle the highway, and ignore turn signals. As the bus exits the highway, Wendy Davis mockingly says, 'See ya later, a**holes!' to the sound of laughter from the other passengers. It’s a far cry from any indication of emotional damage or distress. It would be worth noting there were only 4 people on the Biden bus that day, and we are being sued by 3 of them.
With zero criminal charges against us—just a civil complaint filed in federal court that threatens to undermine our fundamental rights, our initial confusion about the lawsuit was overwhelming. It wasn’t until a friend of mine said, “they can’t do this to you… you have free speech!” that I was prompted to do a deep dive into the foundations of American rights, which became a pivotal moment for us.
It was amidst the new decision to homeschool our child (and to boycott Target, and start drinking raw milk in my organic coffee), that we immersed ourselves in understanding America's founding documents—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We learned about our guaranteed freedoms, including free speech and the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. And that these are unalienable rights, meaning they come from God, and man cannot give or take these rights away. These rights are secured by our Constitution, but our rights don’t come from a piece of paper, they come from God. Gaining this new understanding, we realized that these rights were being infringed upon, and we knew we had to fight back, not just for ourselves but for all Americans.
Door after door was slammed in our faces after I applied to over 50 First Amendment rights nonprofits for assistance, to no avail. Leaving a homeschool mom and average Americans to stand in the gap for free speech rights. Knowing how critical this fight is, we made the difficult choice to use our 401K to hire the only attorney willing to take our case. Even though media turned a blind eye to the lawfare that later came, everyday Americans stepped up, offering us incredible support through grassroots fundraising. The peoples’ generosity has fueled our fight (FreeSpeechDefender.com), keeping us standing strong in the face of overwhelming odds. While we've managed to cover hundreds of thousands in legal fees paid out over the last 4 years, we still face the uphill battle of raising enough money to make it through trialwhich begins Monday, September 9, 2024 and stands to be the most costly portion of the defense yet.
Most Americans can’t afford to pay these outrageous legal fees to defend themselves against the unlimited resources used to bring suits like this. And the progressive left knows that. The process is the punishment. For example, in our case the plaintiffs are represented by multiple nonprofits and have over 24 D.C. attorneys – we have one.
The plaintiffs (or in simple terms, the individuals bringing this case) include high-profile figures. Among them is Wendy Davis, a senior advisor at Planned Parenthood who was running for Congress at the time. Dr. Eric Cervini, a notable author and LGBTQ+ influencer known for his controversial work and his partnership with RuPaul in operating a Rainbow Bus with inappropriate children’s books. And David Gins, who at the time was a campaign staffer who later became a White House official under Kamala Harris, and Timothy Holloway, the Biden bus driver.
It’s obvious that this isn't just about us—it's about setting a dangerous, national precedent, one that silences free speech and scares people into submission. It's a warning to anyone who dares to speak out against the left’s agenda that dissent could cost them everything, even bankruptcy.An article produced by Protect Democracy, one of the multiple law groups funding this frivolous lawsuit, states, “Why are we suing? …political violence needs to stop.” But where do we draw the line on defining “political violence”? If someone is merely offended by another’s exercise of free speech, and we call this political violence, couldn’t this get quickly out of hand?
To bolster their baseless claims, the plaintiffs' counsel brought in 'expert' witnesses to label us as Christian nationalists with white supremacist tendencies, painting us as a threat to democracy based on our characteristics of homeschooling, going to church and supporting Donald Trump. One of these so-called experts even testified in Colorado’s 14th Amendment hearing, arguing that Trump wasn’t fit for the ballot because he allegedly incited political violence. In that same hearing, the prosecuting attorney referenced our Trump Train video in his opening remarks, falsely claiming we 'forced the bus and its occupants off the highway.'
It’s clear they are lying—fabricating "evidence" to silence free speech, manipulate elections, and target ordinary Americans as collateral damage in their agenda. For four years, we have endured ruthless media slander, defamation, and a relentless legal battle. Yet, despite this ongoing smear campaign, the courts continue to reject our pleas for relief.
We’ve filed three separate motions in an effort to dismiss this frivolous and abusive lawsuit, all of which were denied by our Obama-appointed judge. Even after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged the baseless nature of the case and encouraged us to file another motion to dismiss—confident that this time the judge would see reason—it was denied once again.
Two young, unrepresented co-defendants were so overwhelmed that they settled, assumingly apologizing simply to escape the crushing burden. Plaintiffs' counsel even urged us to mediate, asking us to apologize to avoid trial, but we refused. They then tried to force us into a settlement through filing a motion with the courts, which we fought back and defeated. Now, with trial just days away, the key plaintiff (Dr. Eric Cervini) suddenly dropped his case against us entirely. Though we initially objected to his attempt to walk away after years of torment, the judge ruled in his favor, sealing the details under a gag order.
To quote our attorney, 'We are looking forward to trial and for the facts to come out. This is the dam breaking.' Where others may have bowed out, we’ve stood our ground. We refuse to bend the knee, kiss the ring, or surrender to the woke mob. We could have taken the easy way out, but we choose to fight on, believing justice will prevail.
Though it has been painful and overwhelming, our journey has transformed us from people afraid to rock the boat, to now defenders of free speech. We have discovered a newfound courage and purpose, and we hope our story inspires others to speak up, whether at local school boards or city councils. Change does not come from the White House but from our house and communities.
As we approach the next phase of our legal battle, we implore you to visit FreeSpeechDefender.com to contribute to our legal defense and ask that you remember us in your prayers. Our fight is not just ours; it’s a battle for the rights and freedoms of all Americans. A win for us is a win for you.
We refuse to settle or back down. Thank you for standing with us. Together, we can ensure that the flame of free speech continues to burn bright.
— Joeylynn Mesaros
I have been following this story for some time and have found it difficult to understand why this civil suit has been allowed when there are no traffic laws broken or evidence that the bus was run off the road or that its passengers were in danger. At least, none that I could find. It paints an unsettling picture of the legal system being weaponized against American citizens.
Is there a Cross-Complaint against the Plaintiffs? The fact they continued when Defendants were in possession of the damning tape left me speechless. They need attorney's fees/cost and punitives for malicious prosecution. This is beyond the pale. How anyone can support this administration defies logic. Thank God for strong Americans. #FightFightFight Thank you for sharing this story.