Mar 6, 2022 - Politics & Policy

U.S. trucker convoy arrives and slows traffic on the Beltway near D.C.

Ivana Saric

Cars and trucks on a freeway — Participants in the "Peoples Convoy" drive the beltway around Washington, D.C., near Cabin John, Maryland, on March 6. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

American truckers and other drivers, calling themselves the "People's Convoy," are slowing traffic on Sunday as they drive around the Capital Beltway, a highway that encircles Washington, D.C.

What's happening: The group is emulating the "Freedom Convoy," which saw truckers in Canada blocking the streets of Ottawa for weeks and jamming several U.S.-Canada border crossings, in protest of COVID-19 health restrictions.

The Canadian convoy also sparked similar trucker protests throughout Europe, including in the Netherlands and France.

Driving the news: The U.S. convoy left Southern California last week and has been making its way across the country.

The group spent Saturday night stationed in Hagerstown, Maryland, about 73 miles from the U.S. capital.

The convoy is comprised of hundreds of trucks, cars, and recreational vehicles, stretching more than two miles long, per Reuters.

While the convoy has slowed traffic, it hasn't yet brought it to a standstill, according to Reuters.
The convoy plans to circle around the Beltway twice before returning to Hagerstown, per a post on their Facebook page.

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U.S. trucker convoy arrives and slows traffic on the Beltway near D.C.

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