JERSEY CITY (1010 WINS) -- Truckers taking part in a nationwide “freedom convoy” opposed to COVID-19 mandates and restrictions are expected to drive through New Jersey over the weekend.
As the main convoy of some 500 vehicles heads east to the Washington, D.C. area, truckers in New Jersey plan to take to highways in the Garden State, with some possibly joining the primary caravan.
A big protest was planned in D.C. ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday, but that convoy ended up being a bust, with few in attendance, according to reports.
Organizers across the country have planned another protest for this weekend, Newsweek reported. The convoys have different starting points, departure dates and routes. Organizers of the main convoy have said they don’t plan to go into D.C.
While the main convoy won’t pass through New Jersey, a map of the state’s convoy shows a northern route for participants on Saturday and southern routes on Sunday—both heading south towards D.C.—with a “final event” scheduled at the Salem County Fairgrounds in Woodstown at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The convoys are inspired by anti-mandate truckers who paralyzed roadways in Canada last month, including in downtown Ottawa and at the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. The demonstrations led Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take the rare step of invoking Canada's Emergencies Act, a move he has since revoked after the protests were broken up and dozens arrested.
New Jersey organizers don’t plan to block roadways as other convoys have.
“Our message is just freedom,” organizer Jackie Thomas told News 12. “At the very least, I feel that we should have freedom for what goes into our body.”
The main convoy—on day 10 of a “peaceful and law-abiding transcontinental journey” across the U.S.—was in southeast Ohio on Friday morning, with the goal of meeting other participants in Hagerstown, Maryland, to the northwest of D.C. on Friday, the Washington Post reported.
As of Friday morning, there were about 550 vehicles in the convoy, including 200 commercial vehicles like tractor-trailers, 150 recreational vehicles like RVs and 200 personal vehicles, an Ohio state patrol sergeant told the Post.
Col. Patrick Callahan, the head of the New Jersey State Police, told NJ.com that authorities expect a peaceful weekend.
“From all that we’ve gathered so far, we have not heard of anybody trying to bring any major arteries to stop,” Callahan said.
Related
Related
Related
