A convoy of truckers is expected to descend on Washington D.C. this week in protest of vaccine mandates and a mixed bag of right-wing grievances, prompting local enforcement to ask the National Guard for traffic-control assistance.
“Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the department received a request for Guard support from the U.S. Capitol Police and the D.C. government, but had not yet decided to approve the request,” according to POLITICO.
The outlet adds:
Several trucker convoys protesting coronavirus restrictions are slated to begin arriving in the D.C. area this week and continue into early March. The protests come after truckers in Canada occupied the capital city of Ottawa for three weeks to oppose vaccine mandates, which ended in widespread arrests and towing by police.
The Pentagon statement did not specify the number of Guard troops that had been requested.
CBS News Baltimore reports:
The group behind the protest, dubbed the People’s Convoy, is calling for an end to pandemic-related health protocols.
“With the advent of the vaccine and workable therapeutic agents, along with the hard work of so many sectors that contributed to declining COVID-19 cases and severity of illness, it is now time to re-open the country,” the group said in a press release. “The average American worker needs to be able to end-run the economic hardships of the last two years, and get back to the business of making bread – so they can pay their rents and mortgages and help jumpstart this economy.”
NBC News’ local DC affiliate adds:
Bob Bolus, who owns a towing company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, said he and a convoy of truckers plan to shut down the Beltway Wednesday.
“We’re challenging the high prices of fuel,” he said.
Bolus said they are also protesting vaccine mandates, critical race theory and people in jail facing charges related to the Capitol insurrection. He said he respects the truckers protesting in Canada.
Bolus said the convoy will first pass through Pennsylvania’s capitol in Harrisburg first before coming to D.C., and he advised that people who use the Beltway may want to stay away.
In a statement, the Maryland state police said “Troopers around the region are working with federal, state and local agencies to monitor developments … and will be ready to respond appropriately … to ensure the free flow of traffic.”
