WASHINGTON — A truck convoy that was supposed to roll into D.C. Wednesday was a bust, but more truckers are still promising to arrive next week, just in time for the State of the Union.
The Freedom Convoy USA 2022, which plans to drive to D.C. from Los Angeles starting Feb. 25, applied for a permit for a rally on the grounds of the Washington Monument on March 1. But the group that was supposed to arrive Wednesday seems to have stalled out.
Bob Bolus, a trucker from Scranton, Pennsylvania, promised a multitude of supporters.
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"We expect 1,000-2,000 truckers," he told WUSA9 Tuesday.
But he was only able to recruit a handful. Photographers spotted just Bolus' rig, a dump truck, and a couple of pickups headed towards the city.
"We're taking our country back," Bolus said.
But while Bolus' convoy failed to deliver, the Freedom Convoy USA 2022 says it will roll out from LA starting Friday, picking up steam and hoping to line up hundreds of trucks before it hits traffic on the Capital Beltway next Tuesday.
"End the mandates once and for all," organizer Kyle Sefcik said in a video posted to social media.
The truckers say they're protesting vaccine and mask mandate, fuel prices and trucking regulations.
"We're coming peacefully," Sefcik said. "And we're going to do this lawfully and constitutionally."
Federal, state and local officials fear huge numbers of truckers could gridlock the city, like truckers did for weeks in the Canadian capital of Ottawa.
The Pentagon has authorized the deployment of up to 700 unarmed National Guard members to back up MPD and U.S. Capitol Police with traffic control. Dump trucks and squad cars have already been pre-positioned along I-395 and at other strategic points across the city. There's even talk of restoring the fence around the Capitol in advance of the State of the Union.
"We actually have been monitoring this," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. "The Administration and Homeland Security have been tracking reports of a possible convoy."
State police across the region say they are ready and there are traffic warnings for jams on the Beltway. Prince George's County even issued a school bus delay warning due to the expected trucker activity.
Some truckers have promised to block the Beltway. Asked whether he was concerned about people who might be caught in the mess, Bolus responded, "Nope, because you don't give a damn about us!"