The trumpist right of the United States resorts again to the motor as a form of protest. Long convoys of trucks showed their support for Donald Trump during the 2020 campaign, marked by the pandemic. His supporters have now been inspired by the seizure of Ottawa by Canadian truckers to begin a journey of more than 4,000 kilometers to Washington DC This Wednesday, dozens of people have begun an eleven-day journey in Adelanto (California) to demand the end of the restrictions of the health crisis in the country’s capital.
Since Tuesday night several people began to arrive from other parts of the country to Adelanto, 130 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles. “This is for our freedom, for our human rights. Enough is enough,” Ron Coleman, a 61-year-old truck driver from Reno, the capital of Nevada, told Reuters. Shane Class (48 years old) arrived from Idaho, 1,300 kilometers away, along with his wife to demand that the Joe Biden government “legalize freedom”, a phrase that he painted on his truck according to AFP reports. . The group, which calls itself the “people’s caravan”, was made up of about thirty trailers and about 50 trucks.
This morning, the town was filled with flags of the United States, Canada, and other popular symbols at Donald Trump’s rallies: the red caps, the Gadsen shield (which supports gun ownership), messages calling for the impeachment of Biden and the phrase “Let’s go, Brandon”, used by the radical right to insult the Democratic occupant of the White House in code. However, many of those waiting for the start of the protest assured that they would only cross the country with peaceful intentions. A way to distance himself from the events of January 6, 2021, when a group of supporters similar to the one that has gathered this cold morning forced their way into the Capitol. Caravan organizers say there are no plans to properly enter the District of Columbia and that the protest is targeting the Beltway, a bypass that surrounds the capital.
The group calls for an end to the use of masks, the mandatory vaccination and the emergency powers that allow the Administration to continue issuing decrees related to the pandemic. The demands are rhetorical in a country that has been relaxing measures for weeks. Even the strictest entities throughout the health crisis, such as California, have begun to lift the mandatory use of face masks in several counties since mid-February. Local authorities have communicated a plan to live with the coronavirus in which they promise to continue carrying out half a million tests a day and maintain face-to-face classes for all students. From this Friday, masks will not be necessary inside offices, bars and gyms.
Trumpism could not let more time pass. Last weekend, the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was finally able to dissolve the protests that blocked the main border point between the United States and Canada for several days. This was a topic covered obsessively for three weeks by media consumed by the radical right, including Steve Bannon, former Trump adviser, on Real America’s Voice. Rumors that there were plans to mimic the demonstration had been going on for weeks. Some supporters of the movement had announced its start for February 13, the day the Super Bowl was played in Los Angeles.
Small caravans will catch up with the convoy that will leave California this Wednesday and pass through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and Maryland. A trailer followed by several vans left this morning from Scranton, Pennsylvania, the town where Biden was born. The truck driver told a Washington television channel that he did not intend to obstruct traffic, but he said he was worried about rising gasoline prices. He sees in the protest a gesture of pressure on the president, who offers his State of the Union address on Tuesday, an appointment that was postponed by the Beijing Winter Olympics.
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The ghost of the events of July 6 has made the authorities in Washington put their guard up. Nancy Pelosi, the president of the House of Representatives, trusts the security operation that will be implemented for Biden’s speech. The Pentagon has also mobilized 50 armored vehicles that will be present on the streets. About 700 unarmed National Guard officers will be stationed, about 300 of whom will be on the Beltway to prevent traffic from being choked. The truckers arrive on March 5 in the area. All attention will be on them.
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