The first of what promises to be several trucker convoys modeled on the protest against mandates in Canada is a few miles outside of Washington, D.C., according to Fox News, and authorities in the district are already on edge.
WTOP reports that there are between 20–25 vehicles that left Scranton, Pa. on Tuesday and are currently in bumper-to-bumper traffic outside of Washington. But the threat of arrest has caused some truckers to back away, and it’s unknown how many trucks will actually make it into the city.
Bob Bolus, who owns a trucking company, says he wants to draw attention to mandates but he doesn’t want to shut the city down.
“I’m down to 2mph,” he told Fox News while stuck in traffic. “We’re the tip of the arrow right now.”
He added that the convoy was not the cause of Wednesday’s traffic jam.
He said some truck drivers departed in the middle of the convoy over potential threats of arrest. More are expected to depart from as far as California next week.
The protest movement is mostly centered on government mandates related to COVID-19.
One tractor trailer and several vehicles are taking part in the caravan. It is at the I-95 South Maryland Welcome Center rest stop. From here the organizer says they’re headed to the Beltway for an “afternoon drive.” @WTOP pic.twitter.com/cYm999yCWT
— Mike Murillo (@MikeMurilloWTOP) February 23, 2022
Related: Tyranny Arrives in Canada
Police aren’t sure whether momentum may build for the trucking protest in the days ahead, Norton said, so law enforcement officials are planning heightened security, which could include temporary security fencing around the Capitol.
“They are being prepared for somehow this catching on. It doesn’t appear to have caught on as much as it did in Canada, and one reason for that may be they don’t have a central theme,” Norton said. “The masks are coming off all around the country, so it’s not clear what it is they say they want; therefore, it’s not clear how many will come.”
Some of the people from the Scranton group listed high fuel cost, the decrease in “rights and freedoms” and the regulations in the trucking industry as some of the things they are also protesting against.
Enthusiasm for the convoys may be waning. Mask mandates are disappearing across the nation and the Supreme Court has scuttled the idea of a national vaccine mandate. Certainly, there are other issues to protest, but none that raise the ire of Americans quite so much.
But it’s early in the protest, and perhaps Biden will do something stupid and crackdown on peaceful truckers trying to make a statement. If he does, it might ignite a nationwide wave of revulsion against the president and those who cheer on his oppression.
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