Do you remember last month’s trucker protests in Canada?
Protests have surfaced in other places since then. As of Thursday, a trucker convoy has been circling D.C., and it’s attracted a distinguished guest: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Cruz rode shotgun in the lead truck at Maryland’s Hagerstown Speedway, according to The Washington Post.
“Your voice is being heard,” Cruz told a crowd. “That is the most American sentiment you could imagine.”
Take a look —
Ted Cruz in the lead truck at this morning’s convoy in DC. This is no longer about “the People’s Convoy,” it’s the Politicians’ Convoy. #CruzConvoy pic.twitter.com/qVZVSHBwZA
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) March 10, 2022
Protest leaders have welcomed Cruz’s presence. One of them even spoke with Cruz at the Capitol on Tuesday.
“There ain’t no ignoring a senator riding in the lead truck,” event organizer Brian Brase told the crowd, according to the Post. “That’s basically an endorsement of what we’re doing.”
Many truckers acknowledge the efficacy of vaccines and N95 masks… but also take issue with cumbersome rules imposed by the federal government.
Brase has committed to continuing the protests until the federal government lifts all mandates for health personnel and federal employees. However, he also reportedly said that the convoy would stay outside Washington, D.C.
Brase said the convoy will continue to protest until mandates for health workers, federal employees and military personnel are eliminated, but he warned the convoy against heading into the capital.
Authorities in D.C. have become sensitive to danger ever since the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The U.S. Defense Department agreed to deploy National Guard troops in D.C. during the trucker protests, at the requests of the local government and the U.S. Capitol Police.
However, the authorities’ fears have mostly proven unfounded so far. The convoy has caused only minimal disruptions to traffic.
Modeled after recent trucker protests in Canada, separate truck convoys have been planned through online forums with names like the People’s Convoy and the American Truckers Freedom Fund — all with different starting points, departure dates and routes.
The convoys follow the recent Canadian truckers’ protest which shut down the busiest U.S. Canadian border crossing and besieged the streets of the capital, Ottawa, for weeks to protest government pandemic restrictions. The multiple blockades were broken up by police in February, with more than 100 arrests.
The websites organizing the American trucker convoys directly reference the inspiration of the Canadian movement. A statement on the People’s Convoy website pays homage to “our brave and courageous neighbors to the north — our Canadian brothers and sisters who led the charge.”
Critics of protests have pointed out that the U.S.’s protocols are generally more lax than those of Canada. For example, Canadian truckers must show a vaccine card in order to re-enter the country after driving into the U.S.
The Horn editorial team and The Associated Press contributed to this article.