Traffic Shutdown? Truck drivers plan 3-day protest on Capital Beltway

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Will trucker gridlock protest backfire?

'Truckers Ride for the Constitution' is protesting the dysfunction in Washington, but what is the group's goal?

Not only is the government (partially) shut down, but now a caravan of truck drivers is looking to shut down traffic around Washington -- as part of a bizarre protest against things that are "destroying America."

The group, Truckers Ride for the Constitution, is trying to attract participants for a demonstration on the Capital Beltway starting this Friday.

"Truck drivers will not haul freight! ... Truckers will lead the path to saving our country if every American rides with them!" the group's Facebook page, which had more than 57,000 "likes" as of Tuesday morning, declares.

The truckers reportedly plan to clog the Beltway by driving "three lanes deep" for three days.

So just what do they want?

Their list of grievances is apparently quite long.

According to a report in The Hill, the drivers are complaining about wages, gas prices and federal regulations on their industry. They're also not too chuffed about the debt or the National Security Agency's surveillance practices.

Earl Conlon, who claimed to speak for the group despite other truckers later challenging him, also told U.S. News & World Report that they seek the arrest of members of Congress who have "violated their oath of office."

"We want these people arrested, and we're coming in with the grand jury to do it," he said.

Conlon, though, said the drivers' beef has to do with support for arming Al Qaeda-tied members of the Syrian opposition.

And good luck to anyone trying to pass the protesting truck drivers. Conlon said commuters who want to pass must have a sticker on their window supporting the group.

"It's going to be real fun for anyone who is not a supporter," Conlon told U.S. News & World Report. "If cops decide to give us a hard time, we're going to lock the brakes up, we're going to stop right there, we're going to be a three lane roadblock."

But trucker Greg Ellis, a supporter of the campaign, said Conlon does not speak for them and disputed the claim that anybody would try to arrest officials.

"Nobody is going to try to effect an arrest on congressmen or anything like that," he told FoxNews.com, describing the plans as "peaceful."

The Facebook page for the group, after the article was published, said Conlon "has no authority" to speak on behalf of RideForTheConstitution.org. Without specifying, the statement said the organization did not want to be associated "with anything that is unlawful."

Asked to clarify the purpose of the event, spokesman Peter Santilli told FoxNews.com on Tuesday: "One of our demands is NON-NEGOTIABLE: President Obama must be removed from office for crimes against the United States and all unconstitutional executive orders nullified. How that is accomplished legally is for the legal and constitutional experts to determine."