WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have issued a bulletin warning that American truckers could begin protesting COVID-19 restrictions along the nation’s highways, causing major disruptions to travel and commerce.
The bulletin began circulating among several national media outlets late Wednesday evening.
CNN is reporting that DHS “has received reports of truck drivers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truckers.”
The DHS warning was first reported as a Wednesday afternoon exclusive by Yahoo News.
“The convoy will potentially begin in California as early as mid-February and arrive in Washington, DC, as late as mid-March, potentially impacting the Super Bowl LVI scheduled for 13 February and the State of the Union Address scheduled for 1 March,” the bulletin said.
“While there are currently no indications of planned violence, if hundreds of trucks converge in a major metropolitan city, the potential exists to severely disrupt transportation, federal government operations, commercial facilities, and emergency services through gridlock and potential counterprotests,” the bulletin continued.
A DHS spokesperson told CNN in a statement that the department “is tracking reports of a potential convoy that may be planning to travel to several U.S. cities. We have not observed specific calls for violence within the United States associated with this convoy, and are working closely with our federal, state, and local partners to continuously assess the threat environment and keep our communities safe.”
For nearly two weeks, Canadian truckers have been protesting a new rule that requires them to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or face a two-week quarantine in their homes after they return across the US-Canadian border. Others have joined to rally against mask mandates, lockdowns, restrictions on gatherings and other Covid-19 preventative efforts in the country.
Wendy Rogers, a Republican state senator from Arizona, wrote on Twitter Monday: “If truckers shut down the Super Bowl it would partially be payback for Colin Kaepernick and the kneeling.”
Rogers was referring to former the NFL quarterback’s efforts to protest racial inequality by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before football games.
Rolling Stone magazine labeled Rogers as “a fringe figure, deep in the far right.”
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., appeared on Fox News recently to encourage “Canadian trucker-style protests against public health regulations.”
Paul, however, did not specifically mention Sunday’s Super Bowl game.
Meanwhile, on social media, several Facebook pages have cropped up talking about the issue of a trucker strike.
One such page, Convoy to DC 2022, has disappeared after a week or more of rabid activity.
On the Truckers For Freedom 2022 Facebook page, there are more than 52,000 followers.
Lisa Vaughn wrote the following on the page on Thursday: “I am going to put this out there. Alomost every other country in this world is goingbto start their Trucker Freedom Convoy. I understand you have to organize, but l think it would have a much bigger impact if, WE AS THE WORLD STOOD UP TOGETHER. Showing we will not Take it anymore, abd we will not back down, we are done with the BS. It would be the first time in history that the wold united as one. Just a thought.”
Hutch Mike wrote: “A big crackdown is coming so we need everyone to start the world Truckers for Freedom this weekend. We are talking mostly to USA which are lazy, Europe starts this weekend, the Canadians need our support now not later when the arrests will come. We all need to start the caravans now! Tell everyone from the states and join firstly the Super Bowl Protest which we have announced on our previous post and on our channel. If you can’t go there grab a few friends and go to your state capital. Film and post here on this thread and on our group. We need action now not when the spring comes! Don’t wait for anyone, THERE IS NO “Official” date, stop waiting for leaders! The Alaska convoy for example has already started! So the precedent is already set, act now! Stop discussing and thinking and…This weekend, on the 13rd start driving start honking and film yourself. Share this info. Also if you wan’t and can go to the Mexican border then go there! but for the love of GOD, stop talking and start driving! This is it.”
A Facebook page called Convoy to Super Bowl has apparently been taken down by the social media giant.
On the Facebook page Trucker Hangout, there is also talk of a trucker protest.
Ben Plumb wrote under a photo that reads “The March to Freedom Convoy to DC 2022,” which, according to the post, is set to begin on March 1: “Please plan ahead and prepare your food pantries, water, gas and any other needs. These truckers are going to be tied up and want you to be prepared. These truckers are planning to go across the country on March 1st 2022 to peacefully fight for our freedom, giving you time to prepare your food, water and fuel sources. They do not want you to think they are attacking the people. These great truckers are fighting for our freedom and health, standing the ground on the front lines for us! They need our full help and cooperation. If you can join, remember to keep it peaceful as they will make us the enemy! Warning the shelves maybe empty for some time–think local, buy local and grow local! Thank you to all truckers, whether you are leading in the convoy or keeping the needs of the people stocked!!!!! Bring it home truckers, “FREEDOM” their biggest load!!! #Convoy for #Freedom”
Attempts by The Trucker to contact someone at Homeland Security to discuss this issue have so far been unsuccessful.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
I’m a truck driver and I find these statements from other drivers embarrassing and ignorant they talk about joining the front lines well let me tell you the real front lines are the hospitals where they are understaffed and over worked for the last 2 years close to a million people have died so far in this country alone I guess that’s no big deal to some considering we have over 300 million unless one of those million happens to be their loved one What happened to us we never use to protest getting shots that kept us from getting sick or dying for decades most of us get a flu shot without question kids have to have shots before they enter school but all of a sudden people are protesting the covid vaccine because they don’t know what’s in it which is a stupid argument cause you don’t know what’s in the flu shot or the shots your kids are getting
Making medicine political has proven to be deadly and costly Oh and if trukers are so high on freedom why not protest random drug testing I hate getting pulled in every 3-6 months but you know why they don’t cause they potentially save lives just like vaccines do I’ve had 3 and waiting to get my 4th
You sir are the moron I am the front line I never shut down and it was months before I could get vaccine. I have a daughter who is a nurse and she would tell you straight to your face that without us tge drivers who didn’t cowardly hide in their homes the medical part would have collapsed. You sir are the embarrassment you are one of those drivers who have been problem al my 45 years in trucking one of those people who just sit on their hands and do as they are told and drivers like you is WHT has allowed the government to takeaway my rights just because I drive a commercial vehicle I have no protection against search and secure without a warrant. I am restricted from lanes I pay for and so much more the list is to long for here . As far as protesting getting a shot that is not what it is about it is about you not being able to make your own decisions to get it or not I have had all 3 but I chose to do that another person not getting doesn’t hut me in the least I have protected myself I can still get it and can still transmit it to you and my daughter has had it 3 times and now has the antibodies to protect her detter than the vaccine. This is not just a trucker issue it is a public issue and finely we have a part of the public who are willing to standup for even you and we have the power now. If I were in charge I would just block fuel terminals there is never more than 3 days of fuel in the ground our just use the money donated to pay the fuel truck drivers to stay home for a week but the convy will work to. My gut tells me you were not a truck driver long and if you were probably a union driver who I’d not used to making decisions for your shelf you had to wait on the billionaires running the union to make it for you. Good day sir happy shopping.
Well then….go ahead, serve on the front lines. Less #of ppl like you….the better.
It’s much much more than vaccines. It’s your freedom of chose being taken away. Well for us Canadians.
It’s the rising costs of everything because both Americans and especially the Canadian government borrowing to much money. You guys don’t have to worry about the emissions Justin Trudeau is putting in place. This will make our economy crumble.
I am a cross border driver and I stand for the convoy and yes I’m vaccinated.
There are lots of vaxed people who are bothered by mandates and support those who are resisting. Possibly when the shots actually do what they are supposed to do maybe there will be more cooperation. I’ve been diagnosed twice with Covid. A coworker was just diagnosed the second time as well and she is double vaxed and boosted. Why would anyone trust the mandating of such an inferior product?
The vaccines DO NOT keep you from getting sick! Who is ignorant now?! All these worthless vaccines do is have the potential to LESSEN a persons symptoms. Just like it is MY choice to NOT get a flu shot (which is only good for LAST YEARS strain) it is also MY choice NOT to get a COVID vaccine which does absolutely NOTHING! If I can still get and spread COVID what exactly is the point??? My choosing to NOT get the vaccine only effects how I react to the virus NO ONE ELSE, so a mandate is a gross over reach of our so called government. Now if the COVID vaccine was like vaccines for Polio, Measles, Scarlet Fever, etc, then you would have a valid argument but since I can still get (and have symptoms bad enough for hospitalization even with the vaccine) and pass along COVID like I would if I hadn’t gotten vaccinated there is no reason I should even be forced to be vaccinated.
The vaccine doesn’t keep you from getting sick. So that means that everyone in the world could be “vaccinated” and people would still be getting Covid.
boohoo millions die because of allot of things .. go find you self a glass bubble safe space. I support the right of choice. cought covid twice .. no worse that a bad cold. keep taking your jabs thats your right too. If you feel safer then so be it. My friends son age 22 died from his 2nd jab . His job forced him to take it. now his wife stands to receive millions in a out of court settlement from raytheon because they dont want it in the news.
I am a nurse an thank you for recognizing our working short staffed and not to mention having to reuse disposable Ppe. It is made for a one time use not for a week.
Why now? Where were the mandates when truckers were running supplies and much needed medical supplies? Where were the anti protesters when truckers were going hungry and had no place to get a hot meal or shower? I commend those truckers in Canada and the USA for their actions. I don’t commend the ones that display the NAZI flags. This isn’t a racist protest it’s a protest against these mask and Vaccine mandates. Stick to your plan truckers.
My husband took a job in Florida December 2019. Plan was to move the rest of the family in Summer 2020. Covid happened-made selling a house in Spring/Summer 2020 exceptionally difficult. I was on the road during the height of the pandemic…when you couldn’t buy meat, canned goods (I won’t touch on the toilet paper debacle). Point being, the only people on the roads between OKC and JAX were the truckers. I mean HUNDREDS. Since 9/11, I haven’t seen anything more patriotic in my life. Of note, while my immediate family doesn’t work in that industry, I have extended family (cousins, etc) that are OTR drivers. As a medical professional, I know the benefit of the vaccine. But I cannot help but stand in solidarity with those Fruit-Of-The-Earth people who make my life easy. I go to the grocery store-there is food. I go to the gas station-gas. I go to Target-Target stuff. I go to work (as a nurse)-supplies. Our livelihood is made possible by these drivers. If they haven’t got the vaccine by now, nothing we can say will change their minds (that goes for anyone, regardless of their profession), there is nothing the government can do to change their minds. It is time the government stops being punitive and move on to other business. At this point, they are just being Big Brother. Benjamin Franklin once said: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Only thing I ask, give a gal a heads up so I can stock appropriately. Protest whatever you want-last I checked, we are still free.
As a disabled homeless truck driver who had 3 shots I have seen many people including truck drivers vets and P S Ws because of lack of proper food and lack of medical supplies in the shelter and private nursing home. E logs overtime proper medical care and parking are also on the table. The gov in Canada 🇨🇦 is expecting a johndeer workers type driver strike. The U S auto workers and nurses in Ont have put in a lot of money to help cover the costs
Stay the hell in Canada. You’re not welcome here.
Stay the hell in Canada. You’re not welcome here. I just lost a much-loved Aunt due to anti-vax stupidity. Enough!
The truckers who are participating in this convoy do not care about the people, only themselves. They are not only putting others in danger from not getting vaccinated, but also the shelves will probably all ready be empty by the time I and many other people get back to the store. If the shelves get wiped out just for a snow shower, just think about what kind of panic this strike is going to cause. Truck drivers are extremely important to our way of life and if they stop providing their services we will see people turn on each other like never before. The vaccines do not always prevent people from getting sick, but as many professionals that are in the hospitals will tell you, 95 percent of the people in the hospitals are the unvaccinated. My husbands mother and brother were strongly against being vaccinated, they are both dead from Covid now, so they lost that argument. My husband got vaccinated before I did and when I got sick from Covid he did not get Covid even though he hugged and kissed me while I was sick. That is what convinced me to get vaccinated. I used to be anti vaccine, but now I am for the vaccines, except for the J&J one. The CDC even does not recommend that one, but Moderna and Phiser are both safe and effective. I would rather have some type of protection against a virus rather than to get sick, accrue a massive hospital bill, or even die. No one that I know that has gotten the vaccine has had any side effects from it and the vaccines are free. You people are afraid of something that could save your life and the lives of many others.
The vaccines do not stop the spread. They don’t work. People who are vaccinated and unvaccinated at my work have been infected with the latest variant at the same rate. You vaccine nazi’s use this guilt trip stuff to push something you can’t even intelligently advocate because even Faucci can’t do that. If you feel safer with the vaccine get it if you are afraid that you might be one of the many who have had bad adverse reactions to it and don’t want to get it don’t. If you don’;t want to get it because you believe it violates your rights don’t get it. Until they can show that the being vaccinated stops me from getting you sick I’ll make my own choice; and if it’s just to keep you from getting me sick…don’t worry about me. My health is not your business.
The mandates need to end. Enough is enough. People need to make their own choices for themselves. No more of this “mask up to protect others”. Other people are not our responsibility. If they are vulnerable then they can wear a mask or stay home. It’s as simple as that. Do not put a stranger’s life ahead of your own, you do not need to protect them. That is their responsibility. It is not being selfish, it is taking care of your own survival. It is your life to live. This has gone on far too long and it needs to stop now. I am vaccinated because I chose to be, not because it was mandated. I also choose to stay away from unvaccinated people because I am protecting myself. Right or wrong it is my choice to make. The government has played this fear and control game for far too long. Thank you truckers for standing up for freedom. I stand behind you all the way.
..I don’t care nothing about the leaders of this country. It’s because they are not leaders..I try to follow Jesus christ..I put my faith and worry on him.the laws of this country does not pertain to all of us that our God’s children..so open the fellow brothers and sisters..God bless all of my fellow truckers and there family..
Native Americans want nothing to do with your stupidity. You truckers turn your backs on us for demanding clean drinkable water for survival so don’t think for one moment we care about your little protest. Go group up together breathe deeply swap spit whatever it is you feel necessary but please do it as close to each other as possible.
Pat, your a idiot. How did the hospitals get there supplys?
My neighbors went and got the vaccine ,6 months later they both got cancer!!!!!!
I was a trucker for 40 yrs. Truckers in this country WILL NOT STICK TOGETHER..PLUS THERE ARE TO MANY FOREIGNERS DRIVING TRUCKS NOW. ALOT CANT EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH. If they want to protest somthing raise he’ll about the insurance cost and the price of fuel!!!!!!
Ive said that for 2 decades. Besides they’ve starved out most of the O/O and company drivers aren’t going to protest. Its almost comical. And of course, as with any protest ……everyone but the ones they think they’re hurting are the ones who will suffer!! They’ll just call out the national guard. I live in America so I’ve always been prepared for something like this. Not because I’m a “Prepper” but because Im a realist. I’ve been paying attention and I’m an American & Jan 20th 2020 I put my supply hoarding into full gear!! I knew when Canada did this the American trucker would FOLLOW (or try too because usually its a talk the talk game…….few actually walk the walk! ) Theres someone out there just waiting for their job! 🚚🛑😉 I blame the media. Reading these comments is so disturbing. The ignorance…..the misinformation….I mean , sadly they’ve made it impossible to trust our only real source of information!
Wow … I mean Wow… Fuel Prices sky rocketing, government mandates, fake news an politics separating us, an here we are arguing.. that’s great… Arguing creates nothing,maybe for once we can be united, not just states,Canada, or foreigners or indians.. An then we can fight against The Corporations of the World,instead of just being good slaves…Feeling Ashamed, Open your eyes, an than maybe we can stand together an change what is wrong… Government needs Chaos to keep us blind..an they doin a great job at it..look at us here to talk ,an all we do is argue…