A group of truckers are aiming to shut down the Capital Beltway in Washington D.C. later this week with a “giant boa constrictor.”
No, not a real boa constrictor, a metaphorical one.
“I'll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor,” said organizer Bob Bolus, according to Fox 5. “That basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you, and that's what we're going to do...”
Bolus is the owner of a truck parts and towing business in Scranton, Pa. He is planning to head out of town Wednesday morning to take part in the boa constrictor blockade.
“We will be along the Beltway where the Beltway will be shut down,” he said Sunday. Bolus also said he’s heard interest in the protest from hundreds of people.
According to a Feb. 20 press release from a group called The People’s Convoy, truckers from across the country are planning to travel to the nation’s capital to lift COVID-19 mandates.
“The last 23 months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a rough road for all Americans to travel: spiritually, emotionally, physically, and – not least – financially,” said the group. “With the advent of the vaccine and workable therapeutic agents, along with the hard work of so many sectors that contributed to declining COVID-19 cases and severity of illness, it is now time to re-open the country.”
There are multiple groups planning truck convoys to D.C., said Fox 5. It is currently unclear how long the protests will last, but Bolus expects to stay for a day or two.
These planned convoys of truckers come after a similar initiative against mandates in Canada, where major roads were blocked for days. At least 191 people related to the protest were arrested.
Bolus said he does not intend to be arrested. A longtime supporter of former President Donald Trump, said issues addressed by the protest range from frustration about increased fuel prices to school vaccine requirements and immigration in addition to mandates.
Facebook officials told NBC News earlier this month that Facebook groups promoting American trucker convoys are run by fake accounts tied to content mills in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Romania and several other countries. Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, also recently noted that large pro-Trump groups had been changing their names to go with convoy-related themes earlier this week.
Joan Donovan, director of the Shorenstein Center, said this pattern fits existing efforts to make money off U.S. political divisions, according to NBC News.
“In some ways, it’s normal political activity,” Donovan said. “In other ways, we have to look at how some of the engagement online is fake but can be a way to mobilize more people.”
Fox 5 reporters asked Bolus if he understood the potential impact the convoy could have on people just trying to get to work and for emergency responders.
“There will be a lane open for emergency vehicles, they'll be able to get in and out and all that,” Bolus said. “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.”
D.C. police are mobilizing ahead of the protest, reported Fox 5. Nearly 500 officers were put on civil disturbance units daily starting Wednesday.
Police Chief Robert Contee said Friday police are working with federal partners.
“There will be disruptions to traffic, that kind of thing,” Contee said. “I think we need to be very candid with the public about some of the expectations based upon what we’ve seen in Ottawa.”
Some police sources said there have been challenges finding towing companies to assist law enforcement. Other agencies, including the Virginia State Police and the Maryland State Police are also monitoring the situation.
“This is standard practice any time the potential exists for a significant protest that could disrupt the safe and efficient flow of traffic on Virginia highways,” said the Virginia State Police in a statement.
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