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The Department of Homeland Security has warned that a trucker convoy protesting vaccine mandates — similar to the ones that have transfixed Canada in recent days — could start in the US on Super Bowl Sunday.
A bulletin warning of the potential protest was sent out to law enforcement officials on Tuesday, according to Yahoo News, which cited documents and senior law enforcement officials.
The DHS warning reportedly revealed that the department “has received reports of a convoy of truckers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truck drivers.”
DHS warned that the convoy is expected to “start in California as early as mid-February and travel to Washington D.C. as late as mid-March, reportedly gathering truckers as they travel across the country.” One source told Yahoo News that the convoy would not likely reach the nation’s capital until late March or early April.
Some truck drivers from the Ottawa, Canada, protests are also anticipated to join the US demonstration.
The bulletin noted that the convoy “appears to be purely aspirational because the event is only being discussed online,” but warned that “this could change quickly.”
DHS confirmed to The Post Thursday that it was tracking “a potential convoy that may be planning to travel to several U.S. cities.” The department added that it had not seen calls for violence related to any potential protest and was working closely with federal, state and local partners.
“DHS will continue to share timely and actionable information with the public,” the department said. “Over the past year, DHS has increased timely and actionable intelligence and information sharing and strengthened operational coordination with partners across every level of government and the private sector.”
Some supporters of a trucker protest have suggested taking a convoy to Washington on March 1, the same day as President Biden’s State of the Union address.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki shrugged off the possibility Tuesday, telling reporters: “What I would just reiterate here is that we know that [vaccine] requirements work.
“We have not seen a disruption as it relates to requirements to the industry. Where we have seen disruptions has been related to these convoys and protests,” she added. “Now, everybody can peacefully protest. We fully support that. But it’s important to note where the disruption is occurring.”
The protests began in Canada last month to protest a vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers. It soon grew into a mass demonstration against the Canadian government over other coronavirus regulations and has since caused disruptions in the international auto trade.
This week, the truck drivers halted traffic on the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, causing automakers to suspend production.
Officials on both sides of the border have urged the protesters to consider the impact of the disruptions on an already strained supply chain caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“If there were to be prolonged blockages at key entry points into Canada, that could start to have a measurable impact on economic activity,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said. “We’ve already got a strained global supply chain. We don’t need this.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized the so-called “Freedom Convoy” at the end of last month after some protesters reportedly urinated and danced on the National War Memorial. Videos also showed a group of protesters dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Others were seen carrying signs, some targeting Trudeau, and at least one carried a Confederate flag. Some were even spotted with swastika flags, while other signs compared the vaccine mandates to fascism.
“Freedom of expression, assembly, and association are cornerstones of democracy. Nazi symbolism, racist imagery and desecration of war memorials are not,” Trudeau said, accusing the protesters of using “hateful rhetoric” and “violence toward fellow citizens.”
“It is an insult to memory and truth. Hate can never be the answer.”
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