One of several proposed US trucker convoys – inspired by Canada's "Freedom Convoy" – will reportedly travel to Washington DC to make numerous demands, including "justice" for Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was killed while trying to breach the Capitol.
PennLive reports that the convoy is being organised by Bob Bulos, who owns a towing business near Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Mr Bulos said they want "justice for Ashli" and listed numerous other complaints with the government, including Critical Race Theory, foreign oil imports, and pandemic restrictions.
He said that he and his convoy "are going to let our voices be heard."
“You are not taking any more of our rights away,” Mr Bolus said. “You are giving rights to illegals. It’s ok for them to do but not us as American citizens. We want the pipeline put back into service. We want fuel back in our country. We want to go back to where we were before instead of giving the rights to foreign countries to put the screws to us because they are feathering their own nests.”
It's unclear how many people are actually going to participate in Mr Bolus' protest, but he claims he has seen "tremendous interest." The first leg of the convoy reportedly only involved eight vehicles.
The convoy, which left Scranton on its way to Harrisburg before heading to Washington DC, started with a stutter when Mr Bulos' truck suffered two flat tires.
Most of Mr Bulos' gripes with the government are rooted in the fact that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
“Donald Trump had the country solid. Industry was thriving and so was everything else. Americans for the first time were enjoying a convenient, exuberant economy," he said. "Now it’s gone the other way. We can’t pay our heating bills. We can’t buy groceries. We can’t do this and we can’t do that. All our rights have been taken away. They patronize illegals. They patronize BLMs.”
He also said the truckers want to see the prosecution of the Capitol police officer who shot Ms Babbitt on 6 January while she was attacking the Capitol.
It's unclear how the protesters plan to demonstrate once they're in Washington DC. Mr Bolus said the demonstrators were "not going to fight with the cops or any other BS," and would largely stay out of the city. Instead, the convoy will reportedly drive on the Beltway before heading back to Pennsylvania.
Considering the often heavy traffic on the Beltway – which usually includes many large trucks – it’s unclear how effective the group will be at drawing attention to itself.
