MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell’s plan to send a truck full of pillows to Canada to show solidarity with the “Freedom Convoy” protesters hit a roadblock, after the Canadian authorities sent back his crew for being unvaccinated.
Mr Lindell is the latest conservative figure to extend his support to the truckers in Canada, who are protesting the country’s vaccination mandates.
He had earlier said in an interview with the Right Side Broadcasting Network on Saturday that he had attempted to get the pillows through to the truckers.
“All of our employees are busy making pillows right now for the truckers in Canada. We’re going to try and get them through. I’m not going to say what day or you know there will be obstructionists,” he said.
“We’re gonna get these brave truckers, and it’s going on around the world now. It’s amazing. We’re winning,” he added.
His unvaccinated media crew, however, was stopped from entering Canada and completing the pillow delivery on Tuesday.
Canadian immigration officials blocked a vehicle from the Right Side Broadcasting Network and asked them to turn back from the border. Reports said a correspondent and crew members inside the vehicle were not vaccinated.
Mr Lindell, despite the snag at the border, sounded optimistic.
He told Newsweek that he expected his MyPillow delivery truck to face no obstacles on Wednesday.
“They’ll be getting across tomorrow morning, I don’t see any problem that they’re gonna have. They’ve got all the right credentials and everything. They’re definitely not vaccinated,” he was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
“We’ll see what happens. They do require another permit that we’ve had to get. So, they expedited that on the Canadian side, they expedited that permit so I believe we’ll have that tonight and we’ll see what happens in the morning,” he added.
Brian Glenn, a correspondent for the Right Side Broadcasting Network told his audience during Tuesday broadcast: “Upon entry to Canada, we were asked several questions. What’s our purpose for business, show proof of citizenship, things like that. The last question they ask you is, ‘Are you vaccinated?’ or ‘Do you have a negative PCR molecular test?’ And, of course, I’m not vaccinated, nor do I have a test.”
He said the customs agents were “very professional, but very stern”.
He continued: “There wasn’t any kind of small chit-chat back and forth. No communication at all, it was just sit there and wait.”
Finally, the crew was told to return to the US.
In Canada, meanwhile, the truckers have entered the third week of protests. On Monday, prime minister Justin Trudeau said he will revoke emergency powers to end the protest.
He had also said banks could freeze the personal accounts of anyone linked with the protests.
