Sen. Rand Paul says he's "all for" trucker convoys springing up in the United States to protest COVID-19 mandates, even in the nation's capital.
"Civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition in our country, from slavery to civil rights, you name it. Peaceful protest, clog things up, make people think about the mandates," the Kentucky Republican told The Daily Signal, which is run by the Heritage Foundation. "Some of this, we started. We put mandates on truckers coming across the border from Canada so then they put mandates on, and the truckers are annoyed. They’re riding in a cab by themselves, most of them for eight, 10-hour long hauls, and they just want to do what they want to do. It’s their own business.”
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security warned law enforcement that truck drivers in the United States could be planning similar demonstrations to support the Canadian efforts, starting on Super Bowl Sunday.
The warning, which circulated nationwide, said the convoy "could severely disrupt transportation, the federal government, and law enforcement operations through gridlock and potential counterprotests" and block major cities' roads to protest restrictions including in Los Angeles this weekend and in Washington, D.C., for the State of the Union address.
However, social media monitoring groups said Saturday there is little evidence of a trucker protest planned for Super Bowl Sunday.
"I hope the truckers do come to America," Paul said, but he doesn't think a convoy would shut down Washington, D.C., "because the government workers haven’t come to work in two years anyway. It’d be a nice change. We’d actually have some traffic.”
Some Democratic governors have eased some of the COVID regulations, said Paul, because "what they’re finding is, moms and dads are upset about this. They’re not just Republicans; everybody’s upset about this. They’re annoyed that their little kids have to be in a mask."
President Joe Biden spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday to express concerns about the protests, and on Saturday, Canadian police persuaded protesters to move trucks that were being used to block the Ambassador Bridge between Ontario and Detroit.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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