The Peoples’ Convoy in the United States has not been much in the national news lately..Which is as it should be, given the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war crimes committed under Putin’s watch..In Washington D.C., WJLA TV reported more than 1,000 truckers and their supporters are staged in Maryland at the City of Hagerstown’s Speedway, an hour-and-a-half northwest of D.C..The Americans have used a different tact than in Ottawa. Rather than parking in the city’s downtown, they depart every morning from Hagerstown to make two loops around the Beltway, officially known as Interstate 495, a 64-mile loop that circles the capital, then head back to the speedway..It’s a very wise decision, given the scars that remain in D.C. following the incidents of Jan. 6, 2021. .As did the Freedom Convoy in Canada, the Peoples’ Convoy is protesting vaccine mandates and other COVID-19-related government restrictions and has plans to stay in the area as long as it takes to be heard, says organizer Brian Brase..“We’re in it for the long haul. We could go indefinitely right now if that’s what it takes. We’re not going away,” Brase told reporters at a press conference..Tuesday was a big day for the group, meeting, by invitation, with federal lawmakers at the Capitol Building in D.C..The first meeting was with Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson, who hailed the protesters as patriots fighting for freedom. .“‘The People’s Convoy continues (the legacy of the Canadian convoy),” said Cruz. “They want government to leave them the hell alone.”. a-1Cruz meets with Johnson, left. .“These are people that are fighting for freedom. It’s just that simple,” Johnson said. “We’ve already seen tears here. I didn’t expect that, it doesn’t surprise me at all.”.In the afternoon, Representatives Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie hosted an invitation-only discussion with a separate group of about 100 truckers..Later, convoy representatives met with lawmakers for a round table discussion with Representative Sam Graves and a handful of other members of the House Transportation Committee..Quite the adult thing to do when compared to lawmakers who disparaged and hid from convoy members in Ottawa. .One can only imagine how differently the Freedom Convoy in Canada would have ended with some adults from the government in the room.But the meeting wasn’t enough for Cruz, who was born in Calgary..On Thursday, Cruz cruised the Beltway, riding shotgun in a big rig making the daily run..He was later interviewed by Sean Hannity on FOX News..“I spent the day with the Peoples’ Convoy. I joined them this morning, spoke with them, and then joined the convoy. I rode in the lead rig, circling the Beltway around Washington D.C. and then, in the lead rig, we broke off from the convoy and headed straight to the Capitol,” said Cruz. .“And I have to tell you, it was inspirational seeing truckers from all over the country. They started in California and their numbers grew and grew and grew, so you had thousands of truckers, thousands of RVs and cars and people supporting them, standing up for freedom, standing up against these illegal and unconstitutional vaccine mandates.”.What Cruz found to be most powerful were people lining the streets and overpasses, waving flags and shouting encouragement..“The one good thing is, it’s waking people up. A lot of these truckers haven’t been political until suddenly these petty tyrants decided to say either you take this vaccine or you’re fired and they stood up and said that’s not right. It’s your choice if you want to take the vaccine,” he said..“But if you choose not to, that’s your choice also. These politicians want to fire truckers and cops and firefighters and soldiers and sailors and airmen, marines and teachers and doctors and nurses. It is wrong.”.Some pundits say the convoy is a day late and a dollar short, with many mandates already having been lifted across the U.S..Organizers disagree, saying the issue is to end governments’ ability to invoke emergency powers and mandates..The bigger picture, they say, is to remind people the governments in the U.S. and Canada took their freedoms away for two years and they must resist them ever doing it again..Myke Thomas is a Western Standard contributor
