The leader of the truck convoy currently camped out in Hagerstown, Maryland called on his followers to "flood 911" with calls about angry drivers if the Maryland State Police don't help them.
Brian Brase, the Ohio trucker organising the protesters, fielded complaints after one of the drivers claimed he took a day off driving after a group of girls flipped him the middle finger.
“We go around the Beltway, birds are flying. Birds are flying everywhere. That’s the kind of people that live up there,” a driver said, according toThe Daily Beast's Zach Petrizzo, who has been following developments in the convoy.
The driver appeared shocked that Washington DC drivers would be resentful of an intentional attempt to disrupt traffic on one of the busiest highways in the region.
Mr Brase said he understood that the drives could "get difficult" because it's a "big convoy" in an area where people "simply do not like us."
“Remember if you got a bad actor, you got somebody acting dumb... #77 with the mile marker and report the vehicle!” he told the crowd.
Another driver shouted back to him that the Maryland State Police, who monitor the line, were not responding to their requests.
“If they don’t take care of it, then we’ll just flood 911,” Mr Brase responded, eliciting a cheer from the crowd. “So they can answer the phone tomorrow or enjoy 911 calls. How about that!”
The Daily Beast spoke with the Maryland State Police about the accusation that they were ignoring the emergency line.
“They certainly do not go unanswered. That is for sure," a communications official with the agency said.
The official also noted that 911 lines should be reserved for "emergency use only," and that someone flipping the bird to a driver does not constitute an emergency.
Flooding 911 centres with calls about drivers being rude can pose a public safety risk, as people experiencing real emergencies may not be able to get their call through to dispatchers.
The convoy drivers have said their aim is to continue protesting until all coronavirus-related mandates have been lifted. However, the Supreme Court struck down OSHA's vaccine mandate for companies employing more than 100 people and every state has either lifted or announced it plans to life its masking mandates sometime this month, leaving a question as to what the truckers actually hope to accomplish.
The truckers have so far intentionally avoided going into Washington DC proper, but reports from the convoy suggest there are some among the ranks who feel their current actions – driving circles around the city on the Beltway – are not enough.
Some convoy participants, including Mr Brase, fear that federal law enforcement agencies are hoping the drivers will enter Washington DC so they can arrest them and prosecute them, comparing it to the mass arrests of the Capitol rioters.
