#Washington DC issues alert as it braces for trucker protest

Washington DC issued an alert Tuesday as officials brace for an expected caravan of trucks arriving in the nation’s capital to emulate the anti-mandate trucker protests in Canada.

“Mayor [Muriel] Bowser is being briefed by public safety officials as we continue to monitor the situation closely, and our agencies remain in regular contact with their local, regional and federal partners,” the alert said, according to a screenshot posted by Fox DC reporter Lindsay Watts.

“Layered mitigation measures are being put in place, including some that will be visible to the public and others that are not,” the alert states. “We appreciate the approval of our DC National Guard traffic support request as we pull together the resources to support out public safety personnel.”

Several different convoys of trucks are expected from across the country to be headed to the city but it isn’t clear how large the turnout will be, or when the protesters will arrive. Some trucks may arrive as soon as Wednesday while others may arrive to coincide with President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech next week.

It also isn’t clear if the truckers will gather within the actual city of DC. Organizer Bob Bolus told Fox 5 DC he plans to leave Scranton, Pa. Wednesday, drive through DC and then to the Capital Beltway – with the goal of shutting down the highway, which wraps around the city.

“I’ll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor,” Bolus told the network. “That basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you, and that’s what we’re going to do the DC”

Bolus said his group would allow a lane to open for emergency vehicles but said if it disrupted people getting to and from work “that’s too bad.”

Nearly 500 cops in the DC police are to be put on “civil disturbance units” beginning Wednesday, the station reported.

Canada’s so-called “Freedom Convoy” lasted weeks, blocking border routes with the country and the US. It shook shipping across the border with the US and led to high-profile clashes with police.