A convoy of truckers opposed to COVID-19 mandates set off on a planned cross-country drive from Southern California to the Washington DC area Wednesday …
A convoy of truckers opposed to COVID-19 mandates set off on a planned cross-country drive from Southern California to the Washington DC area Wednesday as the Pentagon approved a request to deploy approximately 700 unarmed National Guard troops ahead of the group’s expected arrival. About two dozen trucks and a number of other vehicles hit the road from the Mojave Desert town of Adelanto as part of a self-proclaimed “People’s Convoy.” Organizers said in a statement that they planned to undertake a “100% safe, lawful and peaceful” journey that would “terminate in the vicinity of the DC area, but will NOT be going into DC proper.” Arrival was scheduled for March 5, but some participants are expected to arrive in the Washington area in time for President Biden’s March 1 State of the Union address to Congress. The California convoy is one of at least three demonstrations organized online and modeled on the recent protests by Canadian truckers that shut down US border crossings and clogged the streets of the capital, Ottawa, for weeks. “To our brave and courageous neighbors to the North — our Canadian brothers and sisters who led the charge — we join your call to Freedom with THE PEOPLE’S CONVOY,” reads the California organizers’ statement. “To the truck drivers around the world: Now is your time to stand up.
