Trucker convoy DC - live: Protester claims trucks will choke DC ‘like giant boa constrictor’ ahead of SOTU
Protest convoy groups heading to DC area between today and 6 March
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Up to 800 National Guard troops are expected to be deployed ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, amid fears over the protest convoy of truckers heading to Washington DC for the event.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Pentagon confirmed that National Guard personnel have been requested to “provide support at traffic control points in and around the District” and to be alert for “possible disruption at key traffic arteries”.
However, no decision to the deployment or number of troops had yet been made, he said.
Several groups are reportedly planning different protests on different routes to Washington DC this week and into March, with several convoy maps and itineraries shared on social media.
Law enforcement agencies in Maryland, Virginia, and the nation’s capital are monitoring potential demonstrations, and security around the US Capitol is ramping up around Mr Biden’s SOTU address, planned for 1 March, while there are fears that some protests may attempt to disrupt the event.
One organiser of the People’s Convoy from Scranton, Pennsylvania, told a local Fox News station the convoy would be like “a giant boa constrictor ... that basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you”.
“That’s what we’re going to do DC.”
Everything we know about Joe Biden’s State of the Union address
US President Joe Biden will give his first State of the Union address to Congress on the evening of Tuesday, 1 March after accepting the customary formal invitation for that date from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Article Two of the US Constitution requires every occupant of the White House to “give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient”.
Joe Sommerlad runs through what we know so far about the president’s speech, as worries persist that there may be protests on the day.
Everything we know about Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address
President expected to use speech to joint-session to champion record on pandemic, economic recovery and infrastructure ahead of midterms
Democrat Rashida Tlaib to respond to Biden’s SOTU address.
Representative Rashida Tlaib will deliver a response to president Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next week on behalf of the progressive Working Families Party group.
Her address, a rare instance of a formal response by a member of the president’s own party, is expected to focus on building consensus among fellow Democrats, especially those who have blocked the Biden administration’s ambitious social and climate spending proposals formerly known as the “Build Back Better” plan, reported Politico.
“I am especially excited to elevate the voices of the working-class residents in my district and across the nation,” Ms Tlaib said in a statement.
“It should not be this hard to deliver on health care, climate, housing, child care, safety, voting rights, clean water and so much more. … Our communities deserve for us to act now.”
The GOP’s formal rebuttal to the president’s speech next Tuesday will be delivered by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
In a statement this week, Reynolds accused the Biden administration of “governing from the far-left” and stifling “free speech, free thought and economic freedom,” reported The Washington Post.
Trucker says convoy will choke DC ‘like a giant boa constrictor’
Bob Bolus, an organiser of the People’s Convoy from Scranton, Pennsylvania, told a local Fox News station the convoy would be like “a giant boa constrictor ... that basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you”.
“That’s what we’re going to do DC,” he added.
Mr Bolus’s truck was among a small handful of vehicles that has reached Washington DC so far, amid fears further vehicles will clog up the city ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
Trucking group expands aims beyond mask mandates
As groups of truckers head to Washington DC to protest against Covid restrictions, one group has released a list of other causes it says truckers will be protesting against.
According to the American trucker Freedom Fund website, convoys will also be gearing up to pursue a number of projects.
Its website says truckers want to:
-Reopen the Keystone Pipeline and Reinstate Oil/Gas Production Domestically
-Reclaim National Energy Independence
-Fight Against Big Tech/Government Censorship
-Secure the Southern Border
-Fight against agricultural regulations that disproportionately affect farmers
-Fight Against Big Pharma Control over Independent Liberty
-Reinstate Liability to Pharmaceutical Companies for Vaccine Damage/Death
Convoy raises almost $500,000 in early donations
The US trucking protest, dubbed the ‘People’s Convoy’ has raised almost $500,000 in donations as it sets off for Washington DC.
The American Foundation for Civil Liberties and Freedom said it had raised $464,731 on Wednesday, with money it told the Daily Mail it would be using to support truckers with the cost of participating in the protest, such as fuel, food and essentials throughout the journey to DC.
This concludes our rolling coverage of the US trucker convoy for today
Thank you for following along.
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