They’re totally being deployed to help out, not intimidate Citizens engaged in Constitutionally protected protest, speech, and petitioning for redress of grievance, right? Hey, you never know, maybe they will be a buffer between the violent leftists who will come to protest the protesters
National Guard to help DC control traffic for truck convoys
The Pentagon has approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops to the nation’s capital as it prepares for trucker convoys that are planning protests against pandemic restrictions beginning next week.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the request Tuesday from the District of Columbia government and the U.S. Capitol Police, the Pentagon said in a statement Tuesday night.
The troops would be used to assist with traffic control during demonstrations expected in the city in the coming days, the Pentagon said. Four hundred Guard members from the District of Columbia Guard will be joined by 300 Guard members from other states, according to the statement.
Guard members will not carry firearms or take part in law enforcement or domestic-surveillance activities, the Pentagon said.
It’s not a particularly good look to deploy the military for legitimate protests, is it? It doesn’t matter than rationale. There are really only two reasons: one, to intimidate the truckers, and two, to keep the unhinged leftists, primarily Antifa, away from the truckers. Once we see where they are deployed we will get more of an idea. Will they be surrounding Capital Hill and the White House, refusing to let legitimate protesters who are protesting the government away?
It remains to be seen if any of the U.S. convoys would seek to actively shut down Washington’s streets, the way their Canadian counterparts did in Ottawa. Some convoy organizers have spoken of plans to briefly roll through the city, then focus on shutting down the Beltway, which encircles the capital.
A statement from the People’s Convoy specifically says the trucks “will NOT be going into DC proper.” That convoy is planning to embark Wednesday from southern California and arrive in D.C. around March 5.
The U.S. convoys seek an immediate lifting of what they say are heavy-handed government pandemic restrictions like mask mandates and vaccine requirements. The American Truckers Freedom Fund website says the group is protesting “the unscientific, unconstitutional overreach of the federal government.” (snip)
People’s Convoy organizer Mike Landis, in a video testimonial on the group’s website, said the current COVID vaccine “is not proven yet” but supported individual choice on whether to take it or not. Landis said the convoy was open to all vehicles and said the primary goal was to pressure Biden to lift the national state of emergency.
Now we’ll get to see if the Brandon admin is tempted to go full Fascist like Canada. Deploying 700 members of the military for a protest is an ugly look.
Read: Pentagon Deploying National Guard To Help With “Traffic Control” For Trucker Convoy »