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Sunday, March 6, 2022
‘Freedom Convoy’ spinoff arrives in Md. with about 1,000 vehicles and unclear plans
HAGERSTOWN — They drove pickup trucks, RVs, 18-wheelers and minivans, some making a 2,500-mile journey from Southern California. More joined as the convoy passed through Amarillo, Tex., or rallied at a farm equipment supplier in Monrovia, Ind. And others came in Friday, as about 1,000 vehicles converged at a speedway in Hagerstown, Md., under the rallying cry of “freedom.”
The truckers and supporters are now the closest they have been to the nation’s capital, where they want to hold lawmakers “accountable” for the government’s pandemic responses. But it’s not clear what they will do next to accomplish their goals.
On Friday night, Brian Brase, a convoy organizer, looked out at a crowd, some dressed in red-white-and-blue beanies and waving American flags, and told them to celebrate the distance they had traveled. But they would have to wait longer to learn their final destination and what to do when they get there.
“Well, we’re going to do something,” he said, laughing. “What this is is yet to be determined. Please be patient.”
The self-titled “People’s Convoy” has emphasized they will not be going into D.C. and previously said they would aim for the Beltway area on March 5. Brase announced Friday morning to supporters in Lore City, Ohio, that those plans had changed. They plan to stay in Hagerstown for another rally Saturday before probably targeting another location “only two miles from the Beltway,” he said, without offering specifics.
When asked Friday night about the group’s plans, People’s Convoy organizer Mike Landis said: “We’re going to keep annoying D.C. … Just make them wonder a little bit.” He continued: “Look, we’re truck drivers; we’re very spontaneous.”
The possibility of caravans of truckers heading to the Beltway has prompted security concerns, drawing in police agencies from D.C., Maryland and Virginia to monitor the group. Supporters have been joining and leaving throughout the trip, making it difficult to estimate the size of the convoy.
But on Friday in Hagerstown, the mood of the group was celebratory and proud. Truckers blared “Take Me Home, Country Road” and ate spaghetti, burgers and chicken tacos donated by supporters. Leaders stood on the makeshift stage of a flatbed truck and lambasted the federal government for imposing vaccine and mask mandates, policies they believe violated their fundamental rights as Americans.
Though protesters, inspired by the self-styled “Freedom Convoy” that occupied downtown Ottawa for weeks, have complained about the perceived infringement of their freedoms, many pandemic-related mandates have already been blocked or rescinded.
Extremism researchers following this movement say the demonstrators’ hostility toward the vaccines is just one of several anti-government, right-wing beliefs. Flatbeds, semis and other trucks and cars in the speedway parking area Friday were decorated with signs and messages referencing far-right political views and conspiracy theories, including calls to “arrest Fauci,” referring to White House medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci, and equating the mandates to slavery. Some supporters wore Make America Great Again caps.
A truck rolled by with a Wisconsin license plate to join hundreds of others parked at the speedway. A group of girls pointed as it passed. “Oh, wow,” they said, almost in unison. “Freedom!”
Brase said the group wants an end to the national emergency declaration in response to the coronavirus — first issued by then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 and later extended by President Biden — and for Congress to hold hearings investigating the government’s response to the pandemic.
Craig Brown, 53, left his home in Sandpoint, Idaho, two weeks ago. A freight truck driver, he took a delivery of apples to Los Angeles to get closer to the convoy’s launchpoint in Adelanto, Calif. He felt uncomfortable that the government could expect him to receive such a new vaccine, and he wanted to teach his teenage daughters to stand up for what they believe in. So he bought a month’s worth of nonperishable food, installed an extra freezer in his vehicle, and set off to join a movement.
On his way to Los Angeles, Brown blew out the rear end of his truck and waited five days for repairs. And before he even found the other truckers, Brown adopted a two-year-old golden retriever named Copper.
By Feb. 23, he had joined the group on their way out of Southern California. Since then, Brown said the trip has been more exciting than he could have imagined. People across the country had made signs to support them, he said, and so many volunteers had brought food to rest stops that he had hardly tapped into his nonperishables.
“It’s a high, seeing all the people on the overpasses and the sides of the roads,” Brown said. “All these people treating us like we are heroes.”
Brown, who had covid-19 last month, does not want to do anything political in D.C. He said he wants to end the trip by parking alongside the truckers and their supporters, and eating a meal together.
“We are going to eat, going to celebrate and enjoy the company of people who think we are heroes,” he said.
During the journey, supporters have stood on chilly highway overpasses to wave American flags. They’ve cheered at rallies and followed the journey on social media. And donations have poured in. By Monday, the group claimed to have collected more than $1.5 million.
One convoy participant said Friday during a live stream on YouTube that “select trucks will be going to the White House” but emphasized that the group as a whole would not be going into the city. He did not elaborate on those plans.
“I don’t want people thinking we are invading D.C.,” he said on the live stream. “This is not the convoy going into D.C. commons. This is a few select drivers.”
There are no trucker-related convoy permit applications for the coming days, National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said on Friday.
D.C. police said they were not aware of this latest pronouncement from one of the convoy participants, but noted that motorists do not need permission from law enforcement to drive into the District.
Authorities have pointed out, however, that large trucks are prohibited from many roads in the District, and there are many regulations governing their operation, including how long they can idle.
On Friday, D.C. police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck described the convoy as a “fluid situation,” adding, “Any sort of response strategies will be implemented in real time.”
Sara Aniano, a Monmouth University graduate student of communication studying far-right rhetoric and conspiracy theories on social media, cautions that it is still unclear what the convoy will do in this region.
“Maybe people don’t want to listen to Brian [Brase]. Maybe people want to go rogue and do their own thing. I wouldn’t put faith in anything,” said Aniano, who has been following the People’s Convoy through Telegram chats, other social media and live streams. “We still don’t know where and what the end game is.”
For Brown, the endgame is a date. March 15, to be exact, when he just learned his driver’s license will expire. He will have to be in Idaho by then, but if the convoy is still together past that day?
“I’ll turn right back around and join them,” he said.
Peter Hermann contributed to this report.
