Lines of trucks block the U.S.-Canada border during a demonstration in Coutts, Alberta, Canada, on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. Since Saturday, a blockade of some 100 trucks has been in place on the north side of the crossing between Alberta and Montana to protest vaccination mandates put in place this month for truck drivers going across the Canada-U.S. border, the Toronto Star reports. Photographer: Gavin John/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The trucker convoy protesting COVID-19 mandates and other issues added to the congested traffic in the Washington, D.C. area on Monday. The protests are expected to continue over the next few days.
On Tuesday, their route will take them onto the D.C. Beltway, off the exit onto I-395 to drive past the Pentagon, roll onto I-239 and return to the beltway to close the loop.
The truckers announced that they would not leave until their demands were met. Their protest began with their displeasure regarding Covid-19 mask and vaccine mandates, but since those have been lifted, even in large cities, they are now protesting the government’s handling of the pandemic.
“The cure was worse than the disease, suicide rates through the roof, divorce through the roof,” Maureen Steele, a spokesperson for The People’s Convoy, said.
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Other drivers have said they are protesting fuel prices, school vaccine requirements and immigration.
Some Republican lawmakers, like Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), have been supportive of the trucker convoy. The senator took a ride with the convoy in D.C. last week.
D.C. drivers should expect longer commute times, and stay up to date on traffic alerts as the police department has already closed off freeway exits to keep traffic moving. They said they will re-open the exits when the closures are no longer needed.
The D.C. police department closed exits on Monday for a time as well, but they were reopened by 4 p.m.
The department has also deployed its Civil Disturbance Unit.
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