Conservative truck drivers in the United States have been attempting to emulate a movement of truck drivers in Canada who disrupted their nation’s capital for several weeks over COVID regulations – but they have had little success so far.
Far right people organizing the convoys protest COVID-19 masking, and vaccine requirements they say are too burdensome. Many organizers appear to be motivated by this. a general antipathy toward the Biden administration.
However, several journalists reported that the convoy movement was disorganized and that it attempted to disrupt D.C. but failed to form any organization.
Although the protest could theoretically last several weeks, much like it did in Canada’s case, organizers of U.S. movements anticipate it will be over by the end of the week. are unclear on exactly when they’re going to be in Washington, D.C. Some are planning to arrive on the day President Joe Biden gives his State of the Union address, although several convoys aren’t planning to arrive until later; others have already tried to disrupt D.C. traffic on Wednesday, well before the speech is set to happen.
In Adelanto, California, hundreds of spectators gathered to see off a convoy of trucks that organizers said was on its way to the nation’s capital city. Two dozen large rigs were among those that left the city, but most of the people involved in the convoy said that they had left. they don’t intend to stay with it all the way to D.C.; many say they’re planning to stop after crossing into Arizona.
Although organizers of the event claimed to be nonpartisanThe abundance of pro Trump flags at the rally suggested that the majority of participants believed in far right beliefs.
A trucker Bob Bolus organized a Scranton, Pennsylvania event that saw very few people at the beginning. Bolus eventually managed to get around seven other people to join him on the trip — but the convoy he organized got lost on its way to Washington.
“I’m currently out in Washington, D.C. area traffic attempting to locate Scranton-based trucker Bob Bolus’ tiny convoy and there are three big problems: Bolus has no idea where he is going, is stuck in traffic, and has no idea where he is,” Daily Beast reporter Zachary Petrizzo noted.
By 7:30 PM Eastern Time Bolus’s co-organizer admitted to Petrizzo, “You are not going to see a convoy,” adding that the event was “disappointing.”
That’s it. This is the “trucker convoy” that is making its way to DC today. One 18-wheeler, one truck with flags and a few cars. Source: @wbaltv11 pic.twitter.com/bc8srqQRfZ
— Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) February 23, 2022
A convoy in Lansing, Michigan was not a convoy. Participants wanted to disrupt the capital of Michigan in order to fulfill their demands (mainly regarding how elections are run) instead of organizing a trip there. But only 10 individuals even bothered to show upAccording to the Detroit Metro Times.
The convoy movement has been slow to start, but the Biden administration is now preparing for a larger contingent of truck drivers and their supporters to travel to Washington, D.C. in March. The Pentagon has approved requests for 700 unarmed National Guard troopsAs they arise, to assist with traffic issues in the city.
Just like CanadaMany of the organizers of the U.S. convoy have extremist far-right ties. For example, one organizer of a Maryland convoy. is a member of the Proud Boys, a white nationalist group that participated in the attack on U.S. Capitol Building in January 2021.
