D.C. officials brace for wave of truckers en route to city

Law enforcement officials are bracing for a wave of Washington-bound truckers inspired by Canada’s Freedom Convoy slated to arrive in the region over the coming weeks.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said Wednesday that it has stepped up resources in the District and has activated Civil Disturbance Units in preparation for the protests.

“As with all First Amendment demonstrations, MPD will be monitoring, assessing, and planning accordingly with our local, state, and federal partners,” the department said in a statement.

The city also will have 700 National Guard troops on hand for the trucker protests, which some fear could ensnare the city ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1.

Scranton, Pennsylvania,-based trucker Bob Bolus said earlier this week that he aimed to shut down the Capital Beltway, but tempered expectations Wednesday as he neared Washington with just one big rig and a few supporters in tow.

“We’re just the spearhead of this whole thing,” Mr. Bolus told The Washington Times. “We’re giving the government the opportunity to understand who the hell we are and what we’re about.”

He said that although he no longer planned on bringing traffic to a halt, he said his trek should serve as a warning for government leaders.

A separate group known as the People’s Convoy began an 11-day trek from California backed by $464,000 in donations. Several other groups organized under the American Truckers Freedom Fund are expected to begin making their way to the Capital region in early March and stage a rally outside Washington.

Organizers behind the Peoples’ Convoy also say they have no intention of disrupting traffic.

Officials’ fears remain piqued after the three-week demonstration that roiled Canada after a group of truckers took to the streets of Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates for truckers.

The movement, known as the Freedom Convoy, eventually morphed into a nationwide protest of pandemic-related mandates prompting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke Canada’s Emergencies Act, giving the government broad authority to crack down on the demonstrations.

The escalation was criticized by some Canadian officials and by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), which said the move is an overreach to silence dissent.

On Wednesday, several Republican lawmakers in the U.S. penned a letter to Mr. Trudeau in support of the truckers and to express concern over the use of the Emergencies Act to quell the protests.

Several municipalities in both the U.S. and Canada have begun to lift mask mandates since the Freedom Convoy began. Every state in the U.S. except Hawaii has lifted their statewide mask mandates or will let them expire in the coming weeks.

The organizers behind the convoys in the U.S. say that although the COVID-19 mandates remain a central grievance, their complaints extend far beyond the pandemic.

“It’s about our country,” Brian Base said, before hitting the road as part of the People’s Convoy. “It’s about letting our government know that it works for us.”

Mr. Bolus said the convoys were about making average Americans’ voices heard.

“We’re giving them an opportunity to listen to us,” he said. “We are larger than any force they have in this country, and we will shut the interstates and the country down until we’re heard. Until the people get so ticked off they uprise against them. And that’s the bottom line. The people got to get off their butts and fight for their rights.”