'Stay Tuned': Trucker Convoy Abruptly Halts Saturday DC Protest Over COVID-19 Mandates

Those in our nation’s capital who deal with jammed highways, traffic and stressful commutes will be glad to hear that a far-right trucker convoy has paused their plans to protest public health measures in Washington, DC. The so-called ‘trucker convoy’ was expected to arrive this weekend, after rallying in Hagerstown, Maryland.

The truckers stationed themselves in Hagerstown on Friday afternoon after leaving Adelanto, California, on February 22. The truckers are expected to remain in Hagerstown all day on Saturday after the announcement was made by an administrator on the convoy’s Telegram channel, with a note saying: “Stay tuned for more updates.”

On Friday, Ohio State Highway Patrol Sergeant Brice Nihiser reported that the convoy consisted of an estimated 550 vehicles, including 200 commercial vehicles (tractor-trailers), 150 recreational vehicles (RVS or trucks), and 200 personal vehicles.

The pause on plans to protest public health measures in DC is partially the result of concerns surrounding a tweet by the Metropolitan Police Department which reads: “Members of the public are reminded that DC: CODE §7-2509.07 expressly prohibits anyone from carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of any First Amendment activity, to include members of the public who have been issued a Concealed Carry Permit in the District of Columbia.”

Some truckers may not be so brazen as to confront police in DC following the arrests of the January 6 insurrectionists. As of late February, 786 people from the right-wing mob of Trump supporters that stormed the Capital in 2021 have been arrested.

A written message reading "follow me to D.C." is seen on the back of a truck as hundreds of vehicles including 18-wheeler trucks, RVs and other cars are parked as part of a rally at Hagerstown Speedway after some of them arrived as part of a convoy that travelled across the country headed to Washington D.C. to protest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) related mandates and other issues in Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S., March 5, 2022.

© REUTERS / STEPHANIE KEITH

Zachary Petrizzo from the Daily Beast reported speaking to some truckers in Hagerstown, who declared that they were “pretty worked up over a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate” despite the fact that there is no such vaccine mandate.

On November 4, 2021, the Biden administration released two policies regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. The first announcement came from the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) saying that employers with 100 or more employees have to ensure their workers are either fully vaccinated or willing to test for COVID-19 on a weekly basis.

The second policy comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health and Human Services requiring health care workers at their facilities to be fully vaccinated. Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted to roll back this policy, but their efforts to do away with the policy completely won’t survive a Democratic-controlled House, and even if it did, US President Joe Biden would be sure to veto it.

Protesters are imitating those in Canada who in late January caused a three-week disruption in downtown Ottawa. The so-called trucker protest is claimed to have begun as a movement against vaccine mandates for truckers, before it was taken over by a right-wing collective with support from many American far-right groups.

Vehicles are parked as part of a rally at Hagerstown Speedway, after some of them arrived as part of a convoy that traveled across the country to protest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) related mandates and other issues, in Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S., March 5, 2022.

© REUTERS / STEPHANIE KEITH

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a national public order emergency - the first in Canada for over 40 years - on February 14 to end the protest. Trudeau’s father, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, used the Emergencies Act in 1970 when two politicians were kidnapped by Quebec separatists.

Canadian police arrested over 100 people after the protest turned violent with truckers blocking roads and continuously honking horns, disrupting families and daily life in community neighborhoods. Almost 90% of Canadian truckers are fully vaccinated, according to the Canadian government, signifying that the so-called anti-vaccine truckers were in a distinct minority.

While some in the DC-Maryland-Virginia region may be relieved to hear their Saturday plans won’t be disrupted by noisy truck drivers, a handful of remaining supporters who saw their DC visit delayed are frustrated and are demanding clarification on a schedule.

One supporter wrote in a Telegram group chat, “Yes, updates would be nice. A lot of people have donated a lot of money and supplies as we’re looking forward to supporting roadside. You’re leaving us hanging.”