The People's Convoy, a group of truckers inspired by Canada's Freedom Convoy, have announced in a video on Sunday night that it has arrived in Vinita, Oklahama, and they are moving onto more locations as they approach Washington D.C.
The Oklahoman reported that People's Convoy received a warm welcome in Oklahoma, where residents showed strong support for the truckers. The People's Convoy took Interstate 40 to Oklahoma City then Interstate 44 before reaching Vinita.
Troopers from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol monitored the People's Convoy's route to keep traffic flow with minimal disruption as possible while ensuring the public's safety.
The People's Convoy, whose Facebook Group membership have grown to 256,500 members from 141,300 last week, consistently stressed that they ensure a safe ride to D.C. by making sure they comply with law enforcement in the towns they will pass by.
The organizers strictly monitor their convoy and regularly post reminders and safety precautions in their group page. A notice was recently posted reminding truckers to "not attempt to get in between any police escort, our pick up truck, and lead truck" for safety reasons.
As announced last week, the People's Convoy left Barstow, California with 1,000 truckers bound for Washington, D.C on Wednesday. The group held a simple program involving short talks from organizers at the Adelanto Stadium to initiate their roll-out. The program also included a blessing from Godspeak Church Pastor Rob McCoy.
The People's Convoy, who describe themselves as peaceful protesters against President Joe Biden's COVID-19 mandates, have earlier announced that they will pass through Texas and Arizona and other states before arriving in the nation's capital by March 4. The truckers raised that it is time to end the mandates since the vaccines and other efforts have brought COVID-19 cases under control.
"The last 23 months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a rough road for all Americans to travel: spiritually, emotionally, physically, and - not least - financially. With the advent of the vaccine and workable therapeutic agents, along with the hard work of so many sectors that contributed to declining COVID-19 cases and severity of illness, it is now time to re-open the country," the People's Convoy said in a news release.
The People's Convoy has been livestreaming their arrival at each state through their Facebook Group. They arrived in Texas on Saturday morning; in Elk City, Oklahoma in the afternoon; in Oklahoma City early Sunday; Tulsa around noon; and Big Cabin late afternoon before reaching Vinita.
Supporters on bridges along the interstate could be seen in the group's livestream, carrying the American flag under the glaring sun for the truckers to pass by Oklahoma and Elk Cities. Fellow drivers meeting them on the road, as well as, those parked along the interstate honked horns in a similar sign of support.
The group is scheduled next to pass through the Capital Beltway, the 64-mile road encircling through Virginia and Maryland to Washington, D.C., starting from Missouri. The convoy will then pass through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Despite having a schedule, the group announces the details of their itinerary in their website 24 hours before arriving in their anticipated destination for security reasons.
In their website, the People's Convoy have announced that they will leave Big Cabin early Monday and will stop for a rally at St. Robert, Missouri. They are currently in Cuba, Missouri as of publishing time:
Biden wrote to Congress on February 18 regarding the continuation of the National Emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, which former President Donald Trump declared on March 13, 2020. The said declaration terminates within 90 days prior to the anniversary of its declaration.
The White House also released enhanced guidelines for disabled individuals and elderly members of the community would have the confidence and resources to get vaccinated, conduct in-home testing, and access to high quality masks from the state.
In addition, the White House said they are closely monitoring the convoy of truckers heading to Washington, D.C. through the Department of Homeland Security who has been working with local partners to assess the threat they have to the environment and communities.
