The Pentagon could commission the National Guard to help manage thousands of big rigs expected to descend upon the nation’s capital this week in protest of government mandates.
Following the path of a Canadian convoy of anti-vaccine long haulers who congested Ottawa’s streets for weeks this month, a group of fed-up American truckers from throughout the country are setting out Wednesday to launch their own mass protest in Washington, D.C., and plan to congest popular thoroughfares – including the Capitol Beltway.
The Pentagon has been asked to help manage the protests by deploying the National Guard, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby.
‘The Department is analyzing a request for assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency,’ Kirby said in a statement.
‘Those agencies have asked for National Guard personnel to provide support at traffic control points in and around the District to help the USCP [U.S. Capitol Police] and D.C. government address potential challenges stemming from possible disruptions at key traffic arteries.’
Although it’s not clear how many people will participate in the protests, it could number in the thousands, Fox News reported.
Those leading the movement have requested a National Park Service permit that could accommodate up to 3,000 truckers in D.C., according to the report.
This comes as officials also plan to reinstall the fencing that surrounded the Capitol complex last year ahead of Biden’s March 1 State of the Union address.
The DC Beltway is among the thoroughfares being targeted by US truckers setting out to protest against a series of mandates
Among the groups participating in the protests is the People’s Convoy, which will begin the 11-day journey from Southern California to DC on Wednesday
The Pentagon is being asked to deploy the National Guard to the US capital in anticipation of a mass group of truckers heading toward the city as part of a ‘freedom convoy’
Some participants have already laid out the ruthless approaches they’ll take to making their voices heard in Washington.
Bob Bolus, who’s leading a fleet of transports from Pennsylvania to Washington on Wednesday, plans to help shut down the Capital Beltway on Friday in protest of vaccine mandates, pandemic-related restrictions and more.
The 64-mile road – whose formal name is the I-495 – encircles the capital, and is its most vital ground transportation link. One lane will be left open for emergency vehicles, but Bolus has said ‘tough luck’ to commuters.
‘The Beltway will be shut down,’ Bolus told Fox News. ‘I’ll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor that basically squeezes you, chokes you, and then swallows you. And that’s what we’re going to do to D.C.’
‘We will not compromise anybody’s safety or health. As far as if they [people] can’t get to work, geez, that’s too bad.’
Bolus said in a flyer that he’s leading a group of truckers from Harrisburg to Washington to take a stand against President Joe Biden’s ‘tyrannical machine’s attempt to remove our inalienable rights.’
Bob Bolus, who’s leading a fleet of transports from Pennsylvania to Washington on Wednesday, likened the event to a boa killing and devouring its prey
The U.S. trucker movement is being spearheaded by a number of groups, including one called the People’s Convoy, which describes itself as a ‘peaceful and unified transcontinental movement.’ It will begin the journey from Southern California to D.C. on Wednesday.
Both the Canadian and American convoys has drummed up plenty of support among truckers and Conservatives, including Senator Rand Paul, who previously said he was ‘all for’ such a protest.
‘I’m all for it,’ Paul told the Daily Signal earlier this month.
‘Civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition in our country, from slavery to civil rights, you name it. Peaceful protest, clog things up, make people think about the mandates.’
However, Canada has been criticized for the way it policed the largely peaceful protests.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been blasted as an authoritarian for his attempts to stomp out the protests and stop them from being funded.
Ottawa’s protests also led to the resignation last week of the city’s police chief Peter Sloly, who failed to restore order to Canada’s capital after thousands of truckers began protesting there in late January.
The US protest is being held as part of a new trend launched in Canada when thousands of truckers formed a fleet to Ottawa, where they remained for weeks before being broken up. Protests are pictured supporting Canadian’s efforts on February 12, 2022 in Buffalo, New York
Canada’s convoy has received support from some Americans, including those pictured above near the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, New York on February 13, 2022
Truck drivers had been parked in the city center since January 27, demanding an end to Trudeau’s vaccine mandates.
They vowed to remain there until mandates were lifted, but police last week began cracking down on the convoy, arresting at least 196 demonstrators and towing away 115 vehicles.
Heavily armed riot cops used pepper spray, while Mounties and armored vehicles were also brought in to help begin clearing the downtown area, which had been paralyzed by the protest.
It appears Washington is working to avoid a similar outcome with preemptive planning.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been widely criticized for his leadership during the protests, with some labeling him an authoritarian for his attempts to stomp out the protests and stop them from being funded.
Peter Sloly, 55, resigned last week after failing to get the Ottawa protests under control
Police have already begun gearing up for their arrival, D.C. police Chief Robert Contee said.
‘There will be disruptions to traffic, that kind of thing,’ Contee told reporters last Friday. ‘I think we need to be very candid with the public about what some of the expectations [should be], based upon what we’ve seen in Ottawa.’
Washington police have nixed officers’ leave over the next week to prepare for the protestors heading their way, and are reportedly mobilizing hundreds of officers as part of a larger response plan.
Other preemptive measures include reinstalling the fencing that surrounded the Capitol complex last year ahead of Biden’s March 1 State of the Union address.
