CNN analyst walks back call for ‘vigilante’ crackdown on Canada trucker blockade amid social media outrage

‘Slash the tires, empty gas tanks, arrest the drivers, and move the trucks,’ Juliette Kayyem tweeted

A CNN analyst and former official in the Obama administration has walked back her calls for harsh action against the Canada trucker blockade after being accused of promoting vigilantism.

Juliette Kayyem, who served as assistant secretary of homeland security for intergovernmental affairs under President Barack Obama, condemned the demonstrations in a string of tweets on Thursday as the Ambassador Bridge, which links Ontario with Detroit, remained at a standstill for a fourth day.

“The convoy protest, applauded by right wing media as a "freedom protest," is an economic and security issue now,” she wrote.

“The Ambassador Bridge link constitutes 28% of annual trade movement between US and Canada. Slash the tires, empty gas tanks, arrest the drivers, and move the trucks.”

“Trust me, I will not run out of ways to make this hurt: cancel their insurance; suspend their drivers licenses; prohibit any future regulatory certification for truckers, etc,” she continued.

“Have we learned nothing? These things fester when there are no consequences.”

Ms Kayyem’s remarks sparked outcry from Twitter users accusing her of advocating for violence and against freedom of speech.

She responded to the uproar in a tweet hours later, suggesting that her prior comments had been misinterpreted.

“Earlier today, I tweeted something that has been used by others to suggest I was promoting vigilantism. I was not,” she wrote on Thursday evening.

“People have the freedom to protest. Governments have the responsibility to protect public safety. That was what I intended to say.”

The Twitter row came as US President Joe Biden urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to use federal powers to clear the blockades of truckers protesting against Covid-19 restrictions at several border crossings.

Mr Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are working with Canadian counterparts to resolve the standoff, the White House said.