Truck convoy protesting vaccine mandates pulls plug before reaching Kansas, Missouri
A truck convoy scheduled to roll through Kansas and Missouri on Sunday and Monday on its way to the nation’s capital to protest vaccine mandates pulled the plug early Saturday.
In a post on their Facebook page at 1:53 a.m., organizers of “Freedom Convoy USA 2022” said there weren’t enough participants to continue.
“The launch in California had a good turn out of supporters, but only 5 trucks were with us on arrival in Vegas,” the post said. “There are 2 other convoys that have massive turnouts, and are in progress to the DC area as we speak. They are The People’s Convoy (which was the first convoy to launch out of Cali) which is in New Mexico now and the Texas Convoy which departs soon.”
The post said truckers who planned to meet their convoy along the way should start heading to D.C. or join the other convoys, which were about to merge into one. They said the $6,500 that had been raised for the trip “will be dispersed to these truckers when they arrive to Maryland and DC.”
The action infuriated many supporters, who immediately began posting angry comments.
“They hope a simple apology post will get people off their backs but you and I can’t let this one go,” wrote one. “This is no small candy bar stolen from the store this is a very elaborate panzi scheme.”
Said another: “We The People demand answers. Answer the questions.”
“Freedom Convoy USA 2022,” one of several convoys to hit the highways in recent days, left California on Friday and headed east, with plans to travel across Interstate 70 in Kansas on Sunday.
The convoy was scheduled to go through Kansas City around 6-7 p.m. Sunday, ending up in Oak Grove, Missouri, for the night, then continue on I-70 to St. Louis on Monday and stop in Indiana that night. The goal was to reach the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to protest during President Joe Biden’s “State of the Union” address.
Other convoys heading toward Washington, D.C., however, have been gaining momentum. The biggest appears to be “The People’s Convoy,” which left southern California Wednesday. Its route goes through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma on Interstate 40, then heads northeast on I-44 at Oklahoma City and into Missouri on Monday, where it runs through Joplin and Springfield and stops in Sullivan for the night.
The group then plans to head east on I-70 out of St. Louis, and arrive in Hagerstown, Maryland, on Friday. The convoy will end in the D.C. area on Saturday, March 5, “but will NOT be going into DC proper,” it says on its website.
Videos taken along the route so far show long lines of tractor-trailer rigs, pickups, cars and RVs snaking down the interstate. Many vehicles are displaying American flags, and others are decorated with bright yellow flags that say “Don’t Tread on Me.” Some signs have anti-vaccine messages, pro-Trump slogans and comments such as “F- - - Biden” and “We Will Not Comply.”
Supporters are gathering on overpasses along the route, waving signs and blaring their horns to cheer the drivers on. In Arizona, some waited for hours to greet them, and firefighters on one overpass erected a gigantic American flag. Organizers said Friday that the convoy spanned eight miles.
Mike Landis with “The People’s Convoy” said the goal is to end a president’s ability to use “emergency” executive power for implementing orders such as vaccine mandates.
“It’s about freedom — your freedom to choose what you feel is best for your life, within the morals and the guidelines of our Constitution,” he said in a video posted on the group’s Facebook page. “We want this government to bring back the Constitution by ending the Emergency Powers Act. And then those that were a part of this whole scheme to be held accountable, per the way of the Constitution, for their actions and the people that died as a result of it.
“We the People want our country back, the one that we love, Old Glory, the America the Beautiful and the brave. Because that’s who we are and what we are and what we want to continue to be. We do not want to be under a dictatorship. Communism style is where we are right now.”
The convoys are inspired by and modeled after recent Canadian truckers’ protests of a mandate requiring those crossing the U.S.-Canada border to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The protests shut down the busiest border crossing between Canada and the United States and jammed the streets of Ottawa, the capital, for weeks. They were broken up last week after authorities arrested more than 100 participants and began towing away vehicles.
Supporters of the U.S. convoys have been collecting money and supplies for the truckers, and “The People’s Convoy” alone showed more than $855,000 in donations on its website Friday. A group in Wisconsin says supporters can “adopt a trucker” with a $500 donation that will provide a tank of diesel, a $75 fuel card, hot meal, shower, case of water and a “Patriot Pack.”
This week, the Department of Defense approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard personnel after receiving requests from the District of Columbia and the U.S. Capitol Police for assistance. The National Guard will help with traffic control from Saturday through March 7, the Pentagon said, but will not take part in law enforcement or domestic-surveillance activities.
Organizers call that overkill, saying the convoys will be “peaceful and patriotic.” But those who monitor far-right extremist groups say people should be paying close attention.
“It’s important to remember that they’ve already mobilized a couple million COVID deniers who have been radicalized and are engaging in increasingly militant activity, including sovereign citizen style tactics,” said Devin Burghart, executive director of the Kansas City-based Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. “So it’s definitely something worth watching.”
Anti-vaccine activists were already scheduling rallies for March 5, Burghart said. “This might add to the crowds.”
Authorities in Kansas and Missouri said they are aware of the convoys and are keeping track of them. Another Midwest convoy is scheduled to roll across I-70 in Kansas and Missouri on March 3 and 4, passing through Topeka and around Kansas City, then traveling to St. Louis.
“We will continue to monitor information regarding the convoy and work with other law enforcement agencies,” said Lt. Candice Breshears, spokeswoman for the Kansas Highway Patrol. “As always, our goal is to keep our citizens and those traveling through our state as safe as possible.”
Capt. John Hotz, Missouri Highway Patrol spokesman, said the agency was “working with federal, state and local partners to monitor them for situational awareness and will address any issues if they arise.”
Some of the convoys have made their Facebook accounts private in the past week and others have moved to sites that are encrypted and more secure. Still other groups have fizzled because of infighting among members.
A planned “Freedom Convoy” in Jefferson City fell flat earlier this month when only a small group of mostly pickups and cars showed up to go to the Capitol. Two days later, the organizer wrote on Facebook that “I have separated myself from particular groups and I no longer feel as if my efforts to support a cause that’s literally going to starve everyone out and cause nothing but a nightmare for everyone, is worth it to me!”
And a group called “Convoy to D.C. 2022 Restart Original” posted on its Facebook page Tuesday that it was “pausing” until March 8.
“We do not support “The Peoples Convoy” movement to DC,” it said. “We don’t want the American people involved in something that could end up getting them into trouble. Our original message got muddy after bringing on an Admin that got the original group shut-down.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 9:12 AM.
