A caravan of trucks leaving California for Washington, D.C., on Friday to protest COVID’s mandates arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday with only five trucks in its ranks, organizers said, prompting them to abandon the campaign and tell members to merge with other, larger anti-mandate groups racing to the capital.
The disbanded group, called Freedom Convoy USA 2022 in solidarity with the Freedom Convoy truck protests in Canada last month, said it expects “1,000-2,000 truck drivers” before leaving Los Angeles. for the trip.
However, just one day after the ten-day trip, caravan organizers announced on social media on Saturday that they were canceling planned rallies along their route – as many of the mandates they were protesting against had been canceled.
“The launch in California caused a good turn for supporters, but only 5 trucks were with us when we arrived in Vegas,” organizers wrote on social media on Saturday after the disappointing activity.
The group had to travel through Salt Lake City, Utah and Denver, Colorado, before continuing to Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday and Monday – but abandoned those plans after the truck-free rally in Sin City.
“To prevent another rally without our truck drivers – our team will not be moving through Salt Lake City and Denver,” organizers wrote on social media on Saturday morning.
Just one day into the planned five-day expedition, US Freedom Convoy organizers announced they were scrapping the crusade after only five trucks arrived at the convoy’s first stop in Las Vegas
The group was due to cross Kansas and Missouri on Sunday and Monday – and eventually Denver, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Columbus on its way to the capital – but abandoned those plans early Saturday after a disappointing rally in Las Vegas.
Instead, organizers instructed the other cheerleaders to join another group currently on its way to the capital, The People’s Convoy, with more than 100 people leaving California this week and passing through Texas on Sunday (pictured)
Instead, organizers instructed the other cheerleaders to join another group currently on its way to the Capitol, The People’s Convoy, more than 100 people who left California the same day and raised nearly $ 1 million in donations.
“There is a much larger convoy called The People’s Convoy that will approach the Kansas and St. Louis routes we had planned before the morning of February 28,” they wrote.
“We are focusing on our goal of unity. Follow them! We appreciate everyone who donated to truck drivers. This is a humanitarian effort more than anything.
Organizers also called on protesters to follow another group, the Texas convoy, which is due to leave for the capital next week.
“There are 2 other convoys that are very active and are moving towards the DC area while we talk,” the organizers wrote.
“We decide to send all the trucks scheduled to meet on our routes to start heading to DC for the event at the National Mall or join the convoys mentioned above as they are about to merge. in one.
“We will publish updates on the large convoys that come together as they travel across the country.”
Members of the already disbanded convoy of freedom will now adjust to a new route after meeting with the much larger convoy of people in Oklahoma on Sunday and Indianapolis on Monday.
The move provoked mixed reactions from celebrants who wanted to call for an end to the pandemic emergency that began in March 2020 and the removal of government rules requiring masks and vaccinations.
“I spent days trying to coordinate a rally in support of our truck drivers,” he wrote. “I have three small children and I work full time and I stretched, then I made myself look so stupid. I’m pretty hurt by all this. ‘
“Give us our money back,” added another, referring to the tens of thousands of dollars in donations raised by the team of thousands of future participants.
“No recent updates, no videos. “I don’t know what’s going on,” another user wrote Friday before the break-up groups. “Looks like they just disappeared.” I was told in a chat last night that they will post links to live shows and / or people who can follow. hope.
Approximately two dozen semi-trucks and about 100 other vehicles, traveled eastbound on I-40, near Albuquerque on Friday, in a People’s Convoy motorcade that spans eight miles
The People’s Convoy was met Friday morning by New Mexico residents who stood on overpasses holding signs and waving American flags
The convoy (pictured in Arizona on Friday morning) began its 11-day march from California to the nation’s capital on Wednesday, and despite a time delay on Thursday, is still expected to arrive in the District of Columbia on March 5, where it will join around 25 other cavalcades on trucks
The user, Jenny Scott, continued: “The only information I can find is about the convoy of people, which has a completely different route and ETA in DC”, referring to the group that left California on Wednesday with 8 miles of debt, more than 100 – a strong caravan and passed through Amarillo, Texas, on Saturday morning to arrive in DC on March 5th.
Freedom Convoy organizers responded, “Hey, Jenny, there’s a huge convoy called Peoples Convoy that took the show honestly.”
“They left on the 23rd and all the trucks decided to join theirs. We chose the 5 trucks we had when sending, it would be best to catch up with them on their routes. We want a giant convoy, and it’s best to give them a head start. ‘
Some users have expressed support for the change of plans by the organizers of Freedom Convoy 2022.
“I think all the convoys that merge together will have a much bigger impact than a few smaller convoys,” he wrote. ‘The bigger the better.’
Supporters watch as People’s Convoy truckers depart from Lupton, Arizona earlier Friday morning. The group is headed next to Texas along its route the D.C.
Protesters from the People’s Convoy are calling for the full opening of the country and must arrive in the District of Columbia on March 5th. They are pictured Friday morning leaving Lupton, Arizona
According to a route posted on social media, the Freedom Convoy route began in Los Angeles on Friday and had to stop in Salt Lake City, Denver and other major cities before arriving in Washington on March 1, before President Joe Biden takes office. Union address.
Now, however, organizers say the group plans to meet with the much larger convoy of pit stops in Oklahoma Sunday and Indianapolis on March 1st and 2nd.
The stretched caravan was scheduled to pass through Amarillo on Interstate 40 on Sunday morning, carrying hundreds of vehicles.
However, the group is one of several formed after Canadian protests that plan to march to the US Capitol in March.
In addition to the People’s Convoy and the Texas-based faction, scheduled to leave Lone Star State next Saturday, another convoy left California on Wednesday from Adelanto, about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, with a force of about 40 trucks.
Before leaving a city in Southern California, the revelers staged a rally reminiscent of the “Make America Great Again” event, waving flags and expressing anti-Biden sentiment, attracting about a hundred vehicles.
There are several other smaller groups that are also organizing similar protest pilgrimages to the nation’s capital, many seemingly linked to far-right organizations and activists – some with links to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The People’s Convoy was traveling I-40 eastbound on Friday (left). Organizers claim they were met with support as they journeyed through New Mexico (right)
Supporters lined the roads and applauded the convoy. This photo was taken Friday morning in Lupton, Arizona
The groups involved include several led by vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as one of General Michael Flynn, a former Trump national security adviser.
Flynn’s group, the American Project, combines attempts to challenge Covid-19 policies with the relentless promotion of conspiracy theories about Trump’s election.
The group is led by Patrick Byrne, a former chief executive of Overstock.com, who, along with Flynn, was central to the conspiracy to persuade then-President Trump to use the military to seize voting machines in an attempt to stay in power.
Another group, the American Foundation for Civil Liberties and Freedom, which raises money for the protesters, hosted an event in LA last year, in which participants made allegations of alleged irregularities in the Michigan presidential election.
The various, somewhat divided groups, all sharing a common destination in the US capital, appear to be gathering in the District of Columbia in early March.
Brian Braise, a spokesman for the loose convoy of freedom and a truck driver based in Ohio, says his motorcade is expected to grow as trucks cross the country. “We believe tens of thousands will join,” he said.
The Pentagon has approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops in Washington to prepare for convoys and help control traffic during any demonstrations, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier in the week, police in Washington stopped police from leaving last week to prepare for the seemingly large caravan of protesters currently heading to the nation’s capital, sources close to the District of Columbia police said.
The unit has mobilized hundreds of officers to lead a major response plan against the convoys, NewsNation reported.
An insider close to the unit said a force of 500 officers had formed every day for the past week to form civil unrest squads to quell planned demonstrations, which are due to continue in March.
In order to form these DC response teams, sources said, U.S. Capitol police have banned vacations and leave for all of their able-bodied employees.
Facebook closed The US Freedom Convoy’s Facebook page earlier this month – a move the group’s organizer called “censorship at its best” – which may have contributed to the group’s disappointing activity.
Washington police have canceled staff leave next week to prepare for a caravan for Freedom Convoy protesters who are currently heading to the nation’s capital, sources close to the District of Columbia Police Department said.
Since it was deleted on February 2 – with Facebook explaining that it was removed for “repeated violations of our QAnon policies” – the group was forced to create a series of new Facebook groups advertising planned demonstrations, which may have caused confusion among potential revelers.
“Attention, fans of Freedom Convoy!” One of their new bands, Defeat the Mandates DC, released earlier in February after the original band was deleted. “After our other band, Freedom Convoy to DC, is removed from FB, please join this new group now, get in touch and be updated, because it’s only a matter of time before our new group is removed.”
“The convoy is due to depart from California on March 1, 2022,” the statement said.
“Prepare your flags, posters, cameras and warm clothes,” another Facebook group set up before the planned caravan posted on February 6, warning future revelers of the dangers they may face during the protest.
Please understand that this is a large-scale undertaking, providing many things such as fuel, food, where to park, mechanics, etc. In the whole country. ‘
