Thousands of truckers are preparing at this very moment for a massive protest of the Biden Administration in Washington D.C. in the near coming days, with the American Freedom Convoy planning a shutdown of Capital Beltway.
Law enforcement agencies in the metro region have called in support from the National Guard in preparation for the convoy’s arrival. The expectation is that the occupation will last from late February into March, with police requesting that the National Guard remain in place until the end of March.
Trucker protest participants requested a permit for a gathering of 1,000 to 3,000 people from the National Park Service at the nation’s capital. In response, the National Guard will be stationed in the region throughout the month of March.
John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, announced that the Department of Defense had also received requests for assistance from U.S. Capitol Police as well as D.C. Homeland Security. He added that: “Those agencies have asked for National Guard personnel to provide support at traffic control points in and around the District to help the USCP and DC government address potential challenges stemming from possible disruptions at key traffic arteries.”
Kirby said that the DOD had not yet made any decisions regarding the requests.
American trucker convoy organizer Bob Bolus said that protestors wish to shut down the Capital Beltway in opposition to Biden Administration policies such as vaccine mandates and the dismissal of immigration law.
Bolus said: “I’ll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor that basically squeezes you, chokes you, and it swallows you, and that’s what we’re going to do the D.C.. We will not compromise anybody’s safety or health, one way or the other… as far as if they can’t get to work, geez that’s too bad.”
