Pennsylvania truck convoy close to DC; ‘We're the tip of the arrow right now,’ organizer says
More trucker convoys are expected to depart from various locations around the country for Washington D.C., next week
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The first of multiple trucker convoys slated to arrive in Washington D.C., in the coming days departed from Pennsylvania this week and were a few miles outside the capital Wednesday, one of the organizers told Fox News.
Bob Bolus, who owns a trucking company, said his convoy departed Scranton on Tuesday in an effort to grab the attention of lawmakers behind COVID-19 mandates and restrictions.
On Wednesday evening, he told Fox News he was 30 miles from the capital in "bumper-to-bumper" traffic. He earlier promised to caused gridlock and disruptions on the Capital Beltway as well as delays.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DC PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE US ‘FREEDOM CONVOY,’ OFFICIALS REQUEST NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS
"I'm down to 2mph," he told Fox News while stuck in traffic. "We're the tip of the arrow right now."
He added that the convoy was not the cause of Wednesday's traffic jam.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He said some truck drivers departed in the middle of the convoy over potential threats of arrest. More are expected to depart from as far as California next week.
The protest movement is mostly centered on government mandates related to COVID-19.
Bolus said he's taken issue with mask and vaccine requirements, rising fuel prices, trucking industry regulations and illegal immigration.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's taken out rights. It's taken everything America stands for," he said. "We're just simply saying, the rights they took, to simply reinstate them."
"What they're seeing today is just a prelude of what's going to come if they don't sit down and listen to us and get rid of these restrictions," he added. "Because then we'll shut the country down. We control this country. Not the government."
In response to the flood of truck drivers expected to converge in D.C., the National Guard will assist officers with traffic support.
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In Canada, truckers there have clashed with authorities amid their own weeks-long demonstration against government mandates.
"We have to support our Canadian counterparts," Bolus said. "They've been screwed over. They lost their freedom there."