Federal law enforcement is increasingly concerned about disruptions from a U.S. trucker convoy that copies a similar protest in Canada.
The Department of Homeland Security says a convoy from California to the nation’s capital is in the “aspirational” phases, but the agency is worried about protests that could start around the Super Bowl in Los Angeles this weekend and extend to mid-March, according to communications obtained by Yahoo News.
The DHS warning to law enforcement obtained by Yahoo says the agency “has received reports of a convoy of truckers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truck drivers.”
The convoy as conceived would mimic a trucker protest that traveled from Vancouver to Ottawa, leaving the Canadian capital in disarray for nearly two weeks. The demonstration started as a protest against vaccine rules on truckers but expanded into a general pushback on COVID-19 restrictions.
“At this time, we have no indication that individuals discussing participating in these activities in the United States are engaged in anything other than First Amendment–protected activity,” the DHS alert dated Feb. 8 says, according to Yahoo. “Nonetheless, DHS remains concerned that these events could have significant public safety implications or potentially be exploited by ideologically motivated actors to potentially act or encourage others to act violently.”
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
