Senator supports U.S. truck protest
WASHINGTON — As truck drivers protesting coronavirus restrictions continue their presence in Canada’s capital and at border crossings, Sen. Rand Paul expressed support for the idea of the truckers bringing their effort to the U.S.
Participants in the self-described “Freedom Convoy” have gathered in Ottawa, Ontario, during recent weekends in what Ontario Premier Doug Ford called a “siege” that led him to declare a provincial state of emergency. Protesters have also blocked several U.s.-canada crossings, affecting industries on both sides of the border.
When Paul was asked about his thoughts on the convoy and the potential for it to spill over into Los Angeles, host of today’s Super Bowl, or into Washington, D.C., he said “it’d be great” if the anti-mandate demonstrators came to the United States.
“I’m all for it,” the Kentucky Republican told the conservative Daily Signal news outlet Thursday. “Civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition in our country, from slavery to civil rights to you name it. Peaceful protest, clog things up, make people think about the mandates.”
He added, “I hope the truckers do come to America, and I hope they clog up cities.”
A spokesman with the senator’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
The senator’s mention of slavery in backing the “civil disobedience” of the truckers drew criticism from Charles Booker, a Democratic candidate for Paul’s Senate seat, who called the Republican’s words “destructive, intentional and completely unacceptable.”
A White House spokesperson pointed to Friday comments from press secretary Jen Psaki about how the Department of Homeland Security is working with the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Police Department and other authorities across California to help respond to any potential protests at the Super Bowl. Psaki said that while the administration believes in peaceful protests, any effort by truckers to clog up the roads could “have a huge impact on workers and the American public.”
The convoy, which started as a protest of U.S. and Canadian rules requiring truckers crossing the border to be fully vaccinated, has disrupted Ottawa as part of a broader movement against mandates. Protests have blockaded notable U.s.-canada border crossings such as the Ambassador Bridge, a key trade corridor linking Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit.
The threat of truckers potentially clogging U.S. roads was elevated Tuesday when the Department of Homeland Security distributed a bulletin to law enforcement agencies. The department warned that a convoy of protesting truckers could begin in California as early as mid-february and arrive in Washington as late as mid-march, according to a copy of the bulletin obtained by The Washington Post.
The bulletin highlighted how the convoy could affect the Super Bowl at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
“While there are currently no indications of planned violence, if hundreds of trucks converge in a major metropolitan city, the potential exists to severely disrupt transportation, federal government operations, commercial facilities, and emergency services through gridlock and potential counterprotests,” the memo said.
The Los Angeles County sheriff’s office has downplayed the possibility of trucker convoy disrupting the Super Bowl, saying there is no “legitimacy” to the threat.
Paul has been a vocal opponent of pandemic-related mandates and has described mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “anti-science.”
In August, as the delta variant of the coronavirus sent case numbers and hospitalizations soaring, Paul urged people to resist the regulations implemented by health experts and elected officials to help prevent the spread of covid-19.
“They can’t arrest all of us,” Paul said at the time.