People’s Convoy drivers rallied at a Maryland race track Saturday. The group, which had its genesis in California, was only a quick trip from Washington, D.C.
Organizers of the People’s Convoy said the line of trucks and other vehicles stretches more than 30 miles long. They said there are as many as 1,000 vehicles riding along.
People’s Convoy: At a Glance
- The caravan, which started Feb. 23 in Californian, reached western Maryland, Friday.
- It’s unclear whether the People’s Convoy will come into Washington, D.C. They rallied Saturday in Maryland at a racetrack.
- There are estimates that the caravan includes as many as 1,000 vehicles, from 18-wheelers to SUVs to minivans.
- Reports indicated the caravan now is 30 miles long.
But now that the group is almost at its destination, People’s Convoy organizer Mike Landis was unclear about the next step. “We’re going to keep annoying D.C. … Just make them wonder a little bit.
“Look, we’re truck drivers,” he said, “we’re very spontaneous.”
A reporter with NBC News tweeted that the caravan likely will drive past Washington, D.C. on its way to a Virginia destination, Sunday.
“The People’s Convoy is still in Hagerstown, MD,” Julia Jester posted on Twitter. “Attendees here are protesting not just vaccine and mask mandates, but also what they view as government overreach in general. Spoke with the convoy’s organizer, who says the (official) plan is to drive by/past DC en route to VA.”
Canadian Caravan Spawned People’s Convoy to Washington
The People’s Convoy is a spinoff from a truckers’ caravan in Canada that rallied against Covid 19 mandates for many days. The group shut down the Ottawa business district. And they also cut off access to bridges used to get goods to/from the United States and Canada. The truckers main issue was the Canadian government requiring unvaccinated drivers who do long-haul assignments into the United States must quarantine when they return.
Brian Brase, one of the People’s Convoy organziers, said his group wants President Joe Biden to end the Covid national emergency declaration. Then President Donald Trump first issued the declaration in March 2020. Brase said his group also is demanding that Congress conduct hearings on the government’s response to the pandemic.
The truckers are using social media to tout their cause. They also used live streaming services to document what’s happening each day as the caravan got closer to Washington, D.C.
At least as of Friday, there were no plans to drive all the convoy vehicles into D.C.
‘I can tell you now that there will be select trucks going to the White House,’ People’s Convoy organizer Dan Fitzgerald said Friday morning on his livestream. ‘I don’t want people thinking we are invading D.C. This is not the convoy going into D.C. commons. This is a few select drivers.’
