'People’s Convoy' to protest government COVID-19 mandates will now begin in Adelanto
Update: On Saturday, organizers of the People’s Convoy announced a noon Feb. 22 staging time for truckers at Adelanto Stadium followed by a send-off rally at 10 a.m. Feb. 23. There was no mention of starting the convoy in Barstow.
An estimated 1,000 semi-truck drivers are expected on Feb. 23 to descend on Adelanto, the official starting point of the cross-country “People’s Convoy” to protest government COVID-19 mandates.
The message the truckers intend to deliver from California to Washington, D.C., is that “government has forgotten its place” and that its mask and vaccination mandates are unconstitutional.
Organizers say the convoy, which follows similar Ottawa, Canada protests, will call on lawmakers to lift the declaration of a national emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and to stop depriving U.S. citizens of their "fundamental rights" by enforcing mask and vaccine mandates.
In the video posted on the Newsmax YouTube channel on Wednesday, co-organizer Maureen Steele said the convoy will leave Barstow but shared no specific location in the city due to security concerns.
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About 1,000 U.S. truck drivers are expected to begin the drive, with more participating along the nearly 2,600-mile route, including stops in Kingman and Upton, Arizona, and Glenrio, Texas.
Organizers said the stops would be at night, and additional stops may be added as the event draws near.
Long-haul mission
The group's mission statement says, “Americans love our freedoms and love the Constitution of The United States of America. This convoy aims to bring back our freedoms, our civil liberties, and bring an end to all unconstitutional mandates.”
The mission statement continues by explaining how the People’s Convoy is about rights and future generations' freedom.
The organization states that the convoy is not about political parties, “But more so about a government that has forgotten its place and has no regard for our founding fathers' instructions, The Constitution.”
On Newsmax TV's "The Balance," host Eric Bolling spoke with organizers of the convoy, Brian Brase and Steele.
Brase emphasized that the protest isn't a far-right or far-left issue. He said it's an issue that every American citizen should be fighting against.
The Newsmax video also included pilot Josh Yoder, the founder of the U.S. Freedom Flyers, who said his group was supporting the People’s Convoy.
Yoder said the airline industry faced “totalitarian orders” from companies, which mandated that “We get the jab or lose our jobs.”
“We stood up starting back in August, and it was very effective in our industry,” Yoder said. “The truckers and the doctors came to us and asked us if we would support the movement.”
Found on the group’s website, The Truckers Declaration declares, “WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND WE STAND TOGETHER UNDER THE BANNER OF FREEDOM – FREEDOM IS THE ONE THING THAT UNITES US ALL. LIBERTY FLOWS THROUGH ALL OF OUR VEINS.”
The Canadian protest
The U.S. protest will mirror events in Canada earlier this month in which truck drivers for nearly a week protested COVID-19 restrictions while shutting down the busiest border crossing to the U.S.
Truckers in Canada, calling themselves the “Freedom Convoy,” opposed a mandate requiring drivers entering the country to be fully vaccinated or undergo testing and quarantine requirements.
"Our brothers and sisters of the highway succeeded in opening Canadians' eyes about the unconstitutional mandates and hardships forced onto their people," event organizers said on “The People’s Convoy - Official” Facebook page.
Fact check: Posts mislead about crowd size, peacefulness at Canada ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest
Who is participating?
Trucker drivers will be the main participant in the convoy, according to organizers, who said the peaceful protest is open to anyone.
Truck driver Richard Luna of Adelanto told the Daily Press that he plans on joining the convoy from Barstow to New Mexico before returning home.
“I’d drive the entire route, but my schedule is tight,” said Luna, 47, who began his behind-the-wheel career nearly 10 years ago. “My wife said she might join me on the trip.”
Luna said it took the COVID-19 pandemic to instill in him a sense of “patriotism and wanting to fight for our freedoms.”
Singer and activist Ted Nugent told Bolling, "I've got my truck, and I'm going to join these truckers,” and "I know these guys, I am these guys."
“These guys stand up for the best in humanity,” said Nugent, who described himself as a “Motor City trucking guitar player, who’ll join the convoy in his zebra-striped Ford Bronco.
Nugent said he’s going to join the convoy and make sure that “the middle finger is on fire because good people support them, rotten people are against them — and old Fidel junior perfected that.”
Nugent’s “Fidel junior” jab was toward Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who invoked on Monday emergency powers to quell the protests by truck drivers and their supporters who paralyzed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in anger over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Newsweek reported that a leader of the "People's Convoy" is reportedly a member of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys.
The organizer for Maryland's chapter of the convoy is believed to be a Maryland D.C. Proud Boys member.
Jordan Green, a reporter for RawStory, gained access to the Peoples Maryland/Virginia Convoy chat on Telegram, verifying the connection to the group.
"We've been tasked with collecting supplies, having people ready for the sides of the road when they do come through our territory, and if they stay in our territory to supply them," @GTHaze wrote under the username Peter Venkman, according to RawStory.
Donations
U..S organizers said they are working to ensure that donations for the U.S. convoy are secured, unlike that of Canada's.
The GoFundMe website blocked donations to the Canadian "Freedom Convoy" campaign after government officials raised objections with the company, which determined that the effort violated its terms of service around unlawful activity, the Associated Press reported.
For more information, visit the “The People’s Convoy - Official” Facebook page or at www.ThePeoplesConvoy.org.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: American 'People's Convoy' COVID-19 protest to begin in Adelanto
