The Capitol police have brought back the barricades they erected in the wake of the January 6 riot as federal authorities expect a trucker convoy to converge on Washington, D.C., in protest of Covid-19 restrictions.
Police in the area are taking preemptive measures to prevent any disturbances amid President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Tuesday as well as “disruption to the important work of Congress,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said.
The barriers were first installed after a mob of supporters of former president Trump stormed the Capitol to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election results of Joe Biden. They were finally dismantled last summer.
Following the example of the Canadian “Freedom Convoy,” which occupied downtown Ottawa in demonstration of the government’s cross-border vaccine mandate, a caravan of American truckers embarked for the nation’s capital from Los Angeles, California last Wednesday. The procession includes more than two dozen 18-wheeler trucks, in addition to 50 pickups and recreational vehicles, Reuters reported.
Borrowing from the Canadian movement’s name, the U.S. group is calling itself the “People’s Convoy.” As the Canadian truckers took to the country’s highways, at one point blockading a major trade bridge connecting Canada and the U.S. for many hours, the U.S. truckers are expected to clog traffic on the Beltway, the highway around Washington. A physical protest may accompany the driving route, similar to the Canadians’ stationing in Ottawa, as truckers have requested a National Park Service permit to allow a gathering of 1,000 to 3,000 in Washington, D.C.
The Canadian protestors stayed in Ottawa for multiple weeks, with the objective of pressuring the Trudeau administration to relax Covid-19 requirements, setting up encampments supported by a flow of supplies and provisions.
Last week, the Pentagon approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard members to Washington, D.C., along with 50 “large tactical vehicles” in preparation for trucker demonstrators. The deployment will include 400 District of Columbia guard members and 300 members from other states, the D.C. National Guard said in a statement. National Guard vehicles are supposed to begin posting up at strategic intersections over the weekend.
Source: National Review
