Hundreds of National Guard troops will be deployed in Washington, D.C., to assist with a trucker protest.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the deployment of the National Guard on Tuesday. The Pentagon will send 700 National Guard members to manage traffic flow during a series of protests similar to the Ottawa Freedom Convoy.
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Four hundred of the Guard members will come from D.C. while 300 will come from other states, the Pentagon said.
‘THE PEOPLE’S CONVOY’ TO BEGIN AMERICAN TRUCKER CONVOY TO PROTEST COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
Austin approved the deployment after the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and Capitol Police requested assistance on Tuesday.
Several truckers and motorists, such as the “People’s Convoy,” are traveling to D.C. to protest COVID-19 restrictions. Several convoys are leaving from different locations but intend to arrive and protest in late February and early March.
It is unclear if the protesters intend to shut down Washington’s roads as the Freedom Convoy did in Ottawa. A statement from the People’s Convoy says that they “will NOT be going into D.C. proper.”
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Local law enforcement said that they are monitoring the situation. “As for all of our First Amendment demonstrations that happen here in the city, we have to be in a posture of preparedness for the information that we know,” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said on Friday. “Obviously, we follow the trends around the country just as you guys are doing, and when we see trends that may impact us here in Washington, D.C., we prepare for them.”
Capitol Police have already begun taking additional measures, including installing a fence around the U.S. Capitol.
