A convoy of truckers protesting Covid mandates slows traffic around Washington

Although the people’s convoy was one of many groups inspired by canadian protests against the pandemic measures that disrupted the capital city of Ottawa for three weeks, many members of the group appeared to align themselves with far-right organizations and activists. On Saturday, People’s Convoy organizers shared a message of support from a prominent QAnon account on its official Telegram channel.

The convoy first left Adelanto, California on February 23 with the intention of ending the protest in the Washington area. Before Sunday, the truckers gathered at a racetrack near Hagerstown, Maryland, about 70 miles northwest of the capital, converging with other drivers and their supporters.

As the convoy headed from Hagerstown Speedway to the freeway on Sunday morning, a winding road of about five miles was lined with people waving flags.

By late morning, the convoy, traveling east on Interstate 70 between Hagerstown and Frederick, had caused major traffic delays. There was a shipwreck, but it’s unclear what caused it. At other times, drivers pulled over to stop and waved flags. As the convoy slowly made its way toward I-495, a handful of Maryland State Police officers could be seen, in some cases helping to remove flags from the road. Many overpasses were packed with onlookers waving flags, although some motorists passing the convoy appeared frustrated by the congestion.

In the early afternoon, the convoy continued to slow traffic, but the vehicles were so scattered – across five lanes – that the sense of a massive presence faded, even as the traffic itself slackened. is retarded. At one point just before the vehicles reached I-495, the speed of the cars reached about 70 miles per hour, but the traffic then tightened up, with the cars pulling into a rolling backup, going from 25 mph to sometimes less than 10.

Although the overpasses later down the road held fewer convoy supporters, many still waved flags and held signs thanking truckers or expressing support for Mr. Trump. Few Maryland State Police vehicles were seen, but as the road passed through Northern Virginia a heavy police presence was evident, with Virginia Troopers in patrol cars and on motorcycles.