'Something is very wrong': Peoples' Convoy returns to Hagerstown speedway to resume fight

Dave McMillion, The Herald-Mail
·6 min read

A mandate-protest group that initially was made up largely of truck drivers returned to a local speedway Wednesday to rail more against COVID-19 related requirements, public school curriculums and U.S. elections that they perceive as fraudulent.

But this time, the group was noticeably smaller as they rallied at 6 p.m. at the Hagerstown Speedway west of Hagerstown.

Hagerstown Speedway General Manager Lisa Plessinger said earlier in the day Wednesday in a phone interview that vehicles participating in the convoy were parked in an excess over-flow parking area at the track. Plessinger said she saw about 15 to 20 trucks, such as tractor-trailers, and about 40 passenger vehicles parked. It was a smaller gathering than the one in March, she said.

During a livestream of the group’s morning meeting Wednesday, the narrator counted 13 or 14 trucks, and one of the speakers said the group planned to be joined by other vehicles to drive around the National Capital Beltway.

At the rally Tuesday night, speakers cast suspicion over the health care system battling the COVID-19 pandemic and federal lawmakers who they see as out-of-touch with the common man.

Steve and Krista Peiffer of Hedgesville, W.Va., fly an American flag Wednesday evening during the return of The People's Convoy at the Hagerstown Speedway. The two were listening to speeches at a 6 p.m. rally.
Steve and Krista Peiffer of Hedgesville, W.Va., fly an American flag Wednesday evening during the return of The People's Convoy at the Hagerstown Speedway. The two were listening to speeches at a 6 p.m. rally.

An over-arching message during The People's Convoy is that there is no room for negotiation to resolve their grievances.

"Compromise is just another word for surrender," read the back of a T-shirt on one man.

The People's Convoy first arrived in the Hagerstown area March 3, caravanning from several parts of the country, to protest against mandated COVID-control measures and the pandemic state of emergency. The main group started in California.

Its actions follow similar demonstrations by truckers in Canada upset at vaccine requirements to cross the Canadian border.

The convoy used the racetrack in March to park vehicles and camp while a contingent from the group traveled almost daily to the Washington, D.C. beltway. There, the vehicles would do laps around the beltway.

A message on a t-shirt helps set the tone for a rally at the return of The People's Convoy at the Hagerstown Speedway Wednesday evening.
A message on a t-shirt helps set the tone for a rally at the return of The People's Convoy at the Hagerstown Speedway Wednesday evening.

The group attempted a few times to head into Washington, D.C., proper, but traffic was blocked by police departments in Virginia and in the city, according to media reports.

Some members of the group at the time met with Republican members of Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who came to Washington County to lead the convoy March 10.

The group left the area March 31, bound for California to protest against mandated COVID-control measures there.

Those involved in Wednesday's rally said convoy members traveled into the country's northwest after hitting California. They started heading back east April 30, they said.

What is the group planning?

It was not clear Wednesday evening what the group's intentions are while staying in the county. One speaker said some plans would probably be spelled out during the evening as speakers addressed a crowd of more than 100 people from a flat-bed trailer adorned with three American flags and a Canadian flag. Speeches were still being made at 7:15 p.m.

When the group left the speedway for California at the end of March, convoy spokesman Mike Landis said "we'll come back to finish this job."

Story background: Ted Cruz joins the People's Convoy on Thursday

More: The People's Convoy is going to California after staying in Hagerstown for almost a month

More: The People's Convoy plans to leave Hagerstown Speedway to protest bills in California

Plessinger said the speedway agreed to allow the group to stay at the facility under certain circumstances.

"Everything is agreed to," said Plessinger, who anticipated the group being there for about a week.

Rob Fergus of Hagerstown, left, and Dave Gough from the Frostburg, Md., area, are pushing Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution as a way to change federal law. It starts, they said, with the local Maryland state delegation. "We can't approach the Mitch McConnells or the Nancy Pelosis. But we can approach the Neil Parrotts," Fergus said.
Rob Fergus of Hagerstown, left, and Dave Gough from the Frostburg, Md., area, are pushing Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution as a way to change federal law. It starts, they said, with the local Maryland state delegation. "We can't approach the Mitch McConnells or the Nancy Pelosis. But we can approach the Neil Parrotts," Fergus said.

Under a shade tent before the speeches, several people gathered to focus on Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution, which allows the U.S. Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution.

But those gathered specifically pointed to the ability of state legislatures to push for amendments under the article. The state-supported constitutional amendment proposals would be considered in conventions.

Time for the 'local man'

Group members said it's a way for the "local man" to have a shot at regulating federal government, such as implementing term limits and addressing what they see as government "overreach."

Those gathered said amendments could be achieved by floating proposals to the local delegation to the Maryland General Assembly, who they said is more in touch with everyday people.

"We can't approach the Mitch McConnells or the Nancy Pelosis," said Hagerstown resident Rob Fergus, referring to the U.S. Senate Republican leader and the U.S. House speaker.

"But we can approach the Neil Parrotts," he said, referring to the Washington County Republican state delegate, who is seeking the Republican nomination to represent the county and the rest of the 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Fergus and others said they are concentrating on Article 5 through a group known as the Convention of States.

On the flatbed truck stage, Robin Sachs told the crowd about how her group — Maryland Voter Integrity Group — is fighting fraud in national and state elections. She claimed vote-counting was halted in some swing states during the 2020 general election in which former President Donald Trump was defeated. There has been no solid evidence offered to support that claim.

'Let's fix this'

"Something is very wrong here," Sachs said. She encouraged the crowd to join her group's private Facebook page to get to work.

"Let's fix this," she said.

A mother of a 12-year-old girl cautioned the crowd about curriculum that is being pushed in public school systems. The lessons being taught to kids are "turning them into activists" and away from their parents, the woman said.

A man told the crowd how he ended up in the hospital ill when lockdowns started in 2020 to control the spread of COVID-19. The man said he had pneumonia, but was placed in a COVID-19 unit.

The man said his nurses were great, but he told the crowd not to trust doctors or the administration in hospitals. He said he was pressured into certain treatments and felt something wasn't right.

He concluded it was "nothing but a sales pitch to sign-up with them."

Another speaker said COVID-19 vaccination requirements are unfairly keeping smart students out of college and dedicated soldiers out of the country's military over their freedom to choose what goes into their bodies.

On Tuesday, the United States passed 1 million deaths attributed to the virus that causes COVID-19. In Washington County, 586 deaths have been tied to COVID-19.

On Monday, medical professionals at Meritus Health of Hagerstown and WellSpan Health in Pennsylvania noted infections were rising again, though hospitalizations and deaths were relatively flat. They stressed the need for the public to get vaccinated and to wear masks when appropriate in hopes of not further spreading the disease.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: The Peoples' Convoy returns to Washington County speedway