The first of several planned truck convoys headed to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday fizzled out before reaching the city limits after a late start when only a handful of protesters arrived to take part in the caravan.
The group left Scranton, Pennsylvania, just before 11 a.m., roughly two hours after its scheduled departure time, and was set to reach Washington by 6 p.m. However, after myriad struggles — including flat tires, traffic, and a lack of directions — the group of roughly eight cars and trucks dwindled before reaching the city limits around 8 p.m.
Bob Bolus, a trucker from Pennsylvania and the organizer of the convoy, was about 30 miles from the nation’s capital when he ran into “bumper-to-bumper” traffic, he told Fox News — traffic that was not caused by the scheduled convoy, he noted.
Amid the confusion, it appeared that the group got separated, with one protest organizer telling a Daily Beast reporter she thought they were “not going to see a convoy” after all.
“You are not going to see a convoy,” Betsy tells me over the phone while saying the day has been “disappointing.” As for Bob, Betsy says that he “doesn’t know where in the hell he is.”
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) February 24, 2022
The convoy from Pennsylvania got off to an uncertain start, as Bolus considered whether to call the journey off due to a lack of protesters. The plan was also altered from attempting to create gridlock on the D.C. Beltway beginning at noon to a convoy that would not interfere with traffic.
“We’ve got a few cars, we’ve got truck drivers in cars, we’ve got people who see what we’re doing on social media and everywhere else,” Bolus told Reuters during a pit stop in Harrisburg at 2 p.m. “It’s like having 10,000 people anyway.”
Trucker update!
Bob Bolus stopped for gas and breakfast outside of Harrisburg
I asked him what he thinks of the lack of truckers joining
“We’ve got a few cars…we’ve got people who see what we’re doing on social media and everyone else. It’s like having 10,000 people anyway” pic.twitter.com/mvH6y8dlET
— Julio-César Chávez (@JulioCesrChavez) February 23, 2022
‘THE PEOPLE’S CONVOY’ TO BEGIN AMERICAN TRUCKER CONVOY TO PROTEST COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
Initially, Bolus intended to create a similar blockade akin to those seen in Ottawa, Ontario, amid trucker protests against Canada’s COVID-19 mandates.
“I’ll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor,” Bolus told Fox 5 on Monday, “that basically squeezes you, chokes you, and it swallows you, and that’s what we’re going to do to D.C.”
Bolus’s group is part of a bigger movement of trucker convoys planning to travel to Washington this week, with the largest group embarking on an 11-day journey from California. That group also set off Wednesday and is scheduled to reach Washington on March 5.
The groups are gathering to protest a range of COVID-19 mandates, such as those that require masks and vaccines to enter public spaces. Bolus also cited economic pains and “justice” for Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as reasons to protest.
“We’re fighting for them just like we are for ourselves — lower food prices, lower gas prices, lower cost of living,” Bolus told WBAL.
Other groups are expected to reach Washington sporadically over the next week ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, which is set for Tuesday. The Pentagon has approved the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to manage traffic flow and report any observed criminal activity. Capitol Police have already begun taking additional measures, including installing a fence around the building.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Despite the underwhelming attendance for Bolus’s convoy, he hinted at future endeavors.
“We’re not putting a chokehold on D.C. today,” he told the Daily Beast. “Not to say that it wouldn’t happen in the very near future. It’s just going to be an idea of what’s to come.”
