March 10 (UPI) — Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, joined the trucker protest at the Hagerstown Speedway near Washington, D.C., Thursday, riding shotgun in one of the trucks.
Calling themselves the “People’s Convoy” the right-wing trucker convoy is protesting workplace COVID-19 vaccine requirements and other public health restrictions designed to protect people from COVID-19.
Cruz told the truckers, “Thank you to every trucker who is standing up for freedom for every man, woman and child in America!”
Addressing the protesters gathered at the speedway, organizer Brian Brase said what Cruz did was “basically an endorsement of what we’re doing.”
Even though many pandemic public health restrictions are fading in the United States as the number of new COVID-19 cases has fallen, the trucker convoy has been circling the D.C. beltway protesting those public health measures.
Brase said the convoy will keep up the protests until all COVID-19 protective restrictions are ended for healthcare workers, military personnel and federal employees.
The U.S. trucker protest was inspired by the Canadian trucker protest that temporarily occupied and disrupted Ottawa and traffic on the Ambassador Bridge.
Canadian authorities invoked the Federal Emergencies Act to deal with criminal acts by some of the Canadian protesters and their illegal disruptions and blocking traffic on international bridges.
Ottawa police made 196 arrests, towed dozens of vehicles and brought 389 charges dealing with illegal actions by protesters there.
