Inspired by their colleagues in Canada, who organized blockades for three weeks until they were arrested by local police, truck drivers from the United States plan to embark on a journey of more than 4,000 km from the state of California to the capital of country, Washington, in defense of the end of restrictions to contain the Covid pandemic.
Calling itself the “people’s train” — also motivated by the Canadian “freedom trains”, the group announces that it will spend 11 days on the road until it lands in the Washington metropolitan area on March 5. The number of truck drivers and vehicles involved is uncertain.
Still, the US government reacted. The Pentagon announced Tuesday that 400 members of the capital’s National Guard will be on hand to provide support at strategic traffic points from Saturday, March 26 through March 7. About 50 large tactical vehicles will also be made available.
With cases, deaths and hospitalizations for Covid falling after a serious wave motivated by the variant omicron, the US has seen the lifting of most restrictions, both in states dominated by Republicans and in those where there is a Democrat majority. About 65% of the population has the first complete vaccination schedule.
In California, where the convoy of truckers began, measures were also relaxed. The decline of the omicron in the state led the local government to suspend the mandatory use of mask in closed spaces, with the exception of public transport, hospitals and nursing homes, but only for those who are immunized.
Still, the state, ruled by Democrat Gavin Newsom, has maintained a state of emergency since the early months of the pandemic, something that has entered the list of demands of protesters, who are calling for the measure to be lifted permanently.
Brian Brase, a truck driver who is one of the convoy organizers, told Reuters news agency that no matter where the trucks stop, they “are not going anywhere” until the group’s demands are met. Other requirements include the end of the vaccination passport charge.
Another train, this one from Pennsylvania, is also on its way to Washington. Bob Bolus, one of the organizers, told an ABC affiliate that the protesters have no intention of breaking laws or blocking traffic in the region, but that could change if demands regarding pandemic restrictions are not met. “They won’t intimidate us. We are the power, not them.”
The American economic situation also enters into the account of the protests. US inflation reached 7.5% this month, according to data released last week, the highest in four decades. Although other national indices are positive, numbers like this put fuel into the acts.
The situation has improved since the Joe Biden administration pumped in trillions of dollars, leading to economic growth of 5.7% in 2021, the strongest since 1984, according to Commerce Department data in January. Meanwhile, unemployment is at 4%, close to the 3.5% rate in February 2020, just before the pandemic.
In Canada, which inspired the protests in the US and also in other countries, such as New Zealand, a protest started by truck drivers and joined by leaders of far-right movements and former police officers occupied different parts of the country for about a month. Parts of the US border, such as the Ambassador Bridge in Ontario, were also blocked off, leading to economic losses.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even declared a state of national emergency to contain the acts. With that, he allowed the country’s banks to freeze the bank accounts of all suspected of involvement with the blocks – about 220 accounts were blocked, as well as more than 250 bitcoin addresses. The freeze ended on Wednesday, officials announced.
Even so, it was necessary for the police to act to remove the protesters from the streets of the capital Ottawa. In the second, 196 people were arrested and 115 vehicles were towed away. In the early days of the protest, there were more than 400 vehicles occupying downtown streets.
