The People’s Convoy is back on the road after holding a Wednesday night rally protesting coronavirus restrictions that organizers are touting as a ‘huge success’.
The more than eight-mile long truck caravan departed for Ohio Thursday morning after an overnight stay in Indiana and their Shifting Gears Rally that thousands attended to issue their support for the group’s protest.
‘The rally in Monrovia was a huge success! The layover allowed for others from across the country to join us!’ Kris Young, admin of the convoy’s Facebook page posted. ‘We are bigger now than when we arrived!’
The rally drew thousands of spectators to the Ted Everett Farm Equipment in Monrovia where at least 91 long haul trucks were parked for the convoy along with campers, vans, buses, motorcycles and dozens of personnel vehicles belonging to People’s Convoy supporters.
‘Its time for truckers around the world to stand up for your rights now!’ lead organizer Brian Brase, 37, of Ohio, shouted at the crowd Wednesday evening before adding: ‘Australia… you’re up next.’
Modeled after the Freedom Convoy in Canada that shut down border crossings to the U.S., the People’s Convoy has called on President Joe Biden to end the national emergency originally declared at the start of the pandemic, as well as any remaining coronavirus mandates. The truckers allege the government has infringed upon their constitutional rights with the mandates.
The People’s Convoy – which has raised more than $1.5million in donations made through its own website – embarked from California last week on an 11-day trek to Washington D.C. The group plans to hold a peaceful protest near the capital city on Saturday and has sworn not to disrupt roads or bridges like their Canadian counterparts did. Organizers have promised a ‘100% safe, lawful and peaceful journey’ that will ‘terminate in the vicinity of the D.C. area, but will NOT be going into D.C. proper.’
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 3: The People’s Convoy is back on the road after holding a Wednesday night rally that organizers are touting as a ‘huge success’
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 3: The more than eight-mile long truck caravan departed for Ohio Thursday morning after an overnight stay in Indiana and their Shifting Gears Rally that thousands attended to issue their support for the group’s protest of coronavirus mandates
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 2: ‘The rally in Monrovia was a huge success! The layover allowed for others from across the country to join us!’ Kris Young, admin of the convoy’s Facebook page posted. ‘We are bigger now than when we arrived!’
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 2: The rally drew thousands of spectators to the Ted Everett Farm Equipment in Monrovia where at least 91 long haul trucks were parked for the convoy along with campers, vans, buses, motorcycles and dozens of personnel vehicles belonging to People’s Convoy supporters
The People’s Convoy, which began its 11-day cross-country trek in California, will arrive in D.C. on Saturday, March 5
The People’s Convoy arrived in Monrovia, Indiana Tuesday evening for a two-day layover before continuing to its trek to D.C. on Thursday.
Wednesday evening the group held a Shifting Gears Rally featuring the convoy’s top leadership Brase, Marcus Summers and Solomon Smith, each of whom addressed the crowd.
Organizers opened the Rally with the signing of the National Anthem. It was followed by a rendition of God Bless America and a prayer which included service dog ‘Dixie’.
There were also speeches by anti-vaccine doctors and other speakers including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, U.S. Freedom Flyers founder Josh Yoder, Dr. Ryan Cole of the Front Line Critical Care Alliance and Tyler Lee, a congressional candidate from Charlotte, North Carolina.
When the rally concluded a giant United States of America Flag was unfurled, spectators lit up their phones and truckers turned on their head lights as they blasted away on their horns.
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 3: The People’s Convoy arrived in Monrovia, Indiana Tuesday evening for a two-day layover before continuing to its trek to D.C. on Thursday
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 2: Wednesday evening the group held a Shifting Gears Rally featuring the convoy’s top leadership
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 2: Organizers opened the Rally with the signing of the National Anthem. It was followed by a rendition of God Bless America and a prayer which included service dog ‘Dixie’
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 2: When the rally concluded a giant United States of America Flag was unfurled, spectators lit up their phones and truckers turned on their head lights as they blasted away on their horns
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 2: An oversized United States flag is being unfurled at the Ted Everett Farm Equipment in Monrovia, Indiana
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 2: The People’s Convoy is the largest of the trucker caravans traveling to D.C. for Saturday’s protest
MONROVIA, INDIANA – MARCH 2: At least 25 other cavalcades had indicated they were heading to the nation’s capital, but participation has remained low. It remains unclear how many will turn up for Saturday’s protest (Pictured: A pickup truck at the People’s Convoy rally on Wednesday in Indiana)
The People’s Convoy is the largest of the trucker caravans traveling to D.C. for Saturday’s protest. At least 25 other cavalcades had indicated they were heading to the nation’s capital, but participation has remained low; at least two of the announced trucker convoys, including Freedom Convoy USA 2020, have disbanded. The leaders of those campaigns have encouraged their members to join the People’s Convoy.
Only one truck traveling with Central-Southeast Freedom Convoy arrived in the Memphis, Tennessee area on Wednesday, DailyMail.com has learned. Fans and supporters had waited on the Canada Road overpass to issue their support for the caravan.
The trucker stopped to collect more drivers and held meet-and-greet with fans at a Petro Travel Center. Steve Oszaniec, whose Jeep features an automatic weapon atop its roof, joined the convoy in Memphis.
A group that was expected to roll through Shreveport, Louisiana Wednesday left hundreds of supporters disappointed after only a few trucks rolled through more than three hours later than initially planned.
The truckers are believed to have split off near Little Rock, Arkansas due to a shooting.
The group – which was on a mission to ‘restore our freedoms, our civil liberties, and to bring an end to all unconstitutional mandates with legal provisions in place to ensure this never happens again’ – prompted regional response from police who were prepared to shut down the interstate if the convoy became larger than anticipated, KTAL reported. Law enforcement agencies all along the route had allegedly dedicated extra resources to ensuring safety and traffic control.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 2: Only one truck traveling with Central-Southeast Freedom Convoy arrived in the Memphis, Tennessee area on Wednesday, DailyMail.com has learned
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 2: Fans and supporters waited on the Canada Road overpass to issue their support for the caravan
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 2: The trucker stopped to collect more drivers and held meet-and-greet with fans at a Petro Travel Center
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 2: Steve Oszaniec, whose Jeep features an automatic weapon atop its roof, joined the convoy in Memphis
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 2: Teresa Morris and Don Morris wear patriotic hats as they show support for the Central-Southeast Freedom Convoy atop an overpass on Canada Road in Memphis
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 2: A sideview of Oszaniec’s Jeep, which features an automatic weapon, American flag and Let’s Go Brandon flag
Washington D.C. was placed on high-alert ahead of the anticipated trucker protests as law enforcement officials have cited concern of an event similar to that of Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump successfully stormed the Capitol, briefly disrupting the certification of the 2020 election.
The trucker protests come as nearly every state in America either has lifted mask orders or has scheduled a day to do so in the near future, with the exception of Hawaii.
Even the U.S. Capitol, which has had a controversial mask mandate since legislators returned in Summer 2020, lifted mask orders over the weekend.
Vaccine mandates, possibly the most controversial COVID-related mandates, are starting to become a thing of the past as well as New York City aims to drop them for businesses like bars and restaurants in the coming week.
The policy changes are in response to case loads across the country having dropped precipitously since their early January peak, with the omicron variant proving to be less likely than earlier strains to cause death or serious illness, especially in vaccinated and boosted individuals.
On Wednesday, the U.S. recorded 52,355 new coronavirus infections, a 25 percent fall over the past week, and a 93 percent drop since the Omicron surge peaked at 800,000 cases per day in mid-January.
Deaths are plummeting as well. On average, 1,776 Americans are dying from COVID daily, a 0.35 percent increase over the past week and a 28 percent drop from the peak of the Omicrons surge when around 2,500 Americans were succumbing to the virus daily.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also issued new coronavirus guidelines on Friday that resulted in the lifting of mask recommendations for 70 percent of Americans.
Under the CDC’s newly revised calculations, only 28.2 percent of the American population – living in 37 percent of counties – is still recommended to mask up in indoor, public, settings.
These counties are scattered throughout America, but include the entire state of West Virginia and much of its neighbor, Kentucky. Oregon and Montana have large portions of the state classified as ‘high’ risk as well.
