US truck drivers plan protests against pandemic restrictions

Posted On: February 23, 2022

Truck drivers gather before a protest convoy departs in Adelanto, California.

By Omar Younis

ADELANTO, United States (Reuters) – After demonstrations that paralyzed the Canadian capital for weeks, U.S. truck drivers planned on Wednesday to embark on a 4,000-kilometre journey to Washington to protest coronavirus-related restrictions. .

Organizers of ‘Comboio do Povo’ say they want to “boost the economy” and reopen the country. The 11-day trip will approach the Beltway highway around the US capital on March 5 “but will not enter DC properly,” according to a statement.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that it had approved 400 troops from the District of Columbia National Guard to ensure “support at designated traffic posts, provide command and control, and meet maintenance requirements” starting Feb. 2.

About 50 large tactical vehicles were also approved for deployment at the transit station.

Brian Brase, a truck driver who is one of the organisers, says that wherever the truck stops, “we’re not going anywhere” until the group’s demands are met. These demands include an end to vaccine and mask requirements.

In Canada, protests linked to the pandemic have clogged roads in the capital Ottawa for more than three weeks and blocked the busiest land crossing between Canada and the United States – the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario – for six days. . .

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used rarely used emergency powers to end the protests, and Canadian police restored normalcy in Ottawa over the weekend.

“We plan to stay for a while and hope they don’t escalate the situation the way Trudeau did with his over-government,” Brase said of Adelanto, California, where the convoy will depart, about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Brase said he expected thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, to participate in the rally.