A convoy of truckers demanding an end to coronavirus-related mandates is heading for the US capital, Washington DC
A convoy of truck drivers from the state of California began their journey to the capital on Wednesday (23/2), with the sound of honking horns starting the journey.
Brian Brase, truck driver and convoy organizer said, “To truckers around the world: now is the time for you to stand up. Now is the time for you to usher in a time of revival of freedom.”
Another truck driver, Dallas Hughbanks, said the main message of the activity was freedom for many things, from the obligation to wear a mask when entering a place. He himself admitted that he did not want to wear a mask.
The convoy from California is one of several US convoys organized online and modeled after the recent protests by Canadian truck drivers that closed the US-Canada border crossing and laid siege to the streets of the capital, Ottawa, for weeks.
Organizers promised a “100 percent safe, lawful and peaceful journey” that would “end around the DC area, but will not enter DC.” They are scheduled to arrive on Saturday March 5th.
The Pentagon has approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard members to the capital to help with traffic control during demonstrations expected to take place in the city in the coming days, the Pentagon said.
The protests take place as average daily cases and hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to dwindle in the US, an indication that the grip of the omicron variant is weakening across the country, and mandates being relaxed or lifted. [uh/ab]