PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A group of truck drivers has left northeastern Pennsylvania for the Washington, D.C., area to protest against COVID-19 restrictions and other grievances.
The convoy left Scranton mid-morning on Wednesday, based on reports from the ground, it was a late start because of a couple of flat tires.
Bob Bolus, a Scranton trucking business owner and ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, says the plan was to stop first in Harrisburg before proceeding to the nation's capital to tie up the beltway. Bolus emphasized this would be a peaceful protest.
A Reuters video journalist, Julio-Cesar Chavez who is traveling with the convoy, tweeted late in the morning that the convoy consisted of an 18 wheeler, 5 pickup trucks, an SUV and a sedan, not as many vehicles as Bolus had been advertising.
There are a few such demonstrations in the works to get truckers to the Washington area to protest COVID-19 public health measures, such as vaccine and mask mandates, but also inflation, gas prices, and a slate of other issues. One group of truckers is set to travel from as far as California.
The convoy from the Scranton area did not plan on coming through the Philadelphia area, but planned to take I-83 south to the Pennsylvania capital.
The Pentagon on Tuesday approved the deployment of 700 armed National Guard troops to help in Washington's local traffic control and logistics efforts. D.C. authorities have been trying to stay ahead of the situation, of course, with fresh memories still of Jan. 6, 2021.
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The demonstrations are inspired by the Canadian "Freedom Convoy." Canadians angered by a coronavirus vaccine mandate for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border organized protests throughout the country.
A blockade at the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit tied up shipments between the two countries for days. The economic loss from that alone was estimated to be between $3 billion and $6 billion, according to the Cross Border Institute at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.