Washington DC convoy will be 'like a giant boa constrictor'

February 21, 2022

Freedom Convoy DC trucker reveals plans to clog capital’s vital Beltway interstate and likens impending protest to ‘a giant boa constrictor that squeezes, chokes and swallows’

Bob Bolus is leading a fleet of truckers from Pennsylvania to Washington this week as part of a wider-protest against vaccine mandates and other policies
He said the aim is to shutdown the Capital Beltway and likened the end goal to that of a large snake preparing to kill and eat its prey
His team is among numerous trucker groups headed protesting President Joe Biden’s ‘tyrannical machine’s attempt to remove our inalienable rights’
The protests are a spinoff of Canada’s massive Freedom Convoy, which left Ottawa crippled for weeks by truckers decrying vaccine mandates

Freedom Convoy truckers headed for DC plan to clog the capital’s vital Beltway interstate – with one likening the protest to a deadly boa constrictor.

Bob Bolus, who’s leading a fleet of transports from Pennsylvania to Washington on Wednesday, plans to help shut down the Capital Beltway on Friday in protest of vaccine mandates, pandemic-related restrictions, and more.

The 64 mile road – whose formal name is the I-495 – encircles the capital, and is its most vital ground transportation link. One lane will be left open for emergency vehicles, but Bolus has said ‘tough luck’ to commuters.

‘The Beltway will be shutdown,’ Bolus told Fox News. ‘I’ll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor that basically squeezes you, chokes you, and then swallows you. And that’s what we’re going to do to DC.’

‘We will not compromise anybody’s safety or health. As far as if they [people] can’t get to work, geez, that’s too bad.’

Bolus said in a flyer that he’s leading a group of truckers from Harrisburg to Washington to take a stand against President Joe Biden’s ‘tyrannical machine’s attempt to remove our inalienable rights.’

A group of truckers heading to Washington, DC this week plan to jam up the DC Beltway to protest vaccine mandates, pandemic-induced restrictions and more

Bob Bolus, who’s leading a fleet of transports from Pennsylvania to Washington on Wednesday, likened event to a boa killing and devouring its prey

His team is among numerous groups of truckers who are headed to DC in protest of President Joe Biden’s administrative policies.

The protests are a spinoff of Canada’s massive Freedom Convoy, which left Ottawa crippled for weeks by truckers decrying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vaccine and quarantine mandates.

Bolus said the federal policies he’s railing against go beyond vaccine mandates.

‘This group of idiots are trying to take our rights away,’ he said. ‘We’re done with the high fuel prices… And all the illegals come marching across. Why should a child have to get vaccinated?’

Bolus said the convoy will leave one lane open on the loop for emergency vehicles, but don’t plan to clear the way for commuters

The push is being led by the People’s Convoy, which will begin the 11-day journey from Southern California to DC on Wednesday

Traffic pictured moving smoothly along DC’s highways ahead of the protest, which police are preparing for

The US trucker movement is being spearheaded by the People’s Convoy, which describes itself as a ‘peaceful and unified transcontinental movement’ will begin the 11-journey from Southern California to DC on Wednesday.

Police have already begun gearing up for their arrival, DC police Chief Robert Contee said.

‘There will be disruptions to traffic, that kind of thing,’ Contee told reporters last Friday. ‘I think we need to be very candid with the public about what some of the expectations [should be], based upon what we’ve seen in Ottawa.’

Washington police have nixed officers’ leave over the next week to prepare for the protestors heading their way, and are reportedly mobilizing hundreds of officers as part of a larger response plan.

Other preemptive measures include reinstalling the fencing that surrounded the Capitol complex last year ahead of Biden’s March 1 State of the Union address.

Protests in Canada remained largely peaceful, with Trudeau blasted as an authoritarian for his attempts to stomp out the protests and stop them from being funded.

America’s convoy has drummed up plenty of support among truckers and Conservatives, including Senator Rand Paul, who previously said he was ‘all for’ such a protest.

‘I’m all for it,’ Paul told the Daily Signal earlier this month. ‘Civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition in our country, from slavery to civil rights, you name it. Peaceful protest, clog things up, make people think about the mandates.’

Meanwhile, GoFundMe has come under fire for allowing fundraising for five armed antifa protesters shot in Portland on Sunday – one of them fatally.

The crowdfunding site had previously axed the Freedom Convoy’s fundraising efforts.

Outrage as Canadian single mom on minimum wage has bank account frozen for donating $50 to Freedom Convoy: Trudeau is blasted for draconian law that ‘would never have been imposed on BLM’

A Canadian MP says the bank account of a single mom with a minimum wage job has been frozen after she donated $50 to Freedom Convoy.

Conservative lawmaker Mark Strahl says the mom, named only as Briane, has had her life ruined for donating the small sum to the anti-vaccine mandates protest.

Strahl shared Brianne’s story as concerns grow that scores of ordinary people will no longer be able to pay for food and basics after their accounts were frozen for donating to a group of protesters.

‘Briane is a single mom from Chilliwack working a minimum wage job. She gave $50 to the convoy when it was 100% legal. She hasn’t participated in any other way. Her bank account has now been frozen. This is who Justin Trudeau is actually targeting with his Emergencies Act orders.’

Response on social media varied from those angry at the situation, stating this would have never happened to Black Lives Matter protesters, and offered to help Briane, to those who questioned whether Briane really exists. DailyMail.com has contacted Strahl for further information.

A Canadian MP tweeted that the bank account of a single mom with a minimum wage job has been frozen after she donated $50 to Freedom Convoy

Strahl tweeted her story Sunday, shining a light on how her livelihood is being affected by Trudeau’s orders

Response on social media varied from those angry at the situation, stating this would have never happened to Black Lives Matter protesters, to those who claimed Briane was fake

‘Thank you to those who have read this and offered to help someone you’ve never met,’ Strahl tweeted. ‘Shame on those who have read it and attacked someone you’ve never met. I will keep working with Briane to resolve this matter with her bank and will provide updates as they are made available.’

‘To those of you, especially the media, demanding more details on Briane, having seen what has been said about her online today and what has been done to other convoy donors in the last weeks I am not going to help you dox her,’ Strahl continued. ‘I know who she is and I won’t stop fighting for her.’

Canadian trucker Derek Brouwer told Fox News that along with his truck being seized, his personal and business bank accounts have been frozen since Friday

Brouwer added they also froze the account for another business he owns that he said has nothing to do with trucks or the protests

Meanwhile, Canadian trucker Derek Brouwer told Fox News that his truck has been seized, and that his personal and business bank accounts have been frozen since Friday, because of his involvement with the protests.

‘They’ve taken my truck – I don’t know where it is – and on Friday, they locked up my personal and my trucking business accounts,’ he said.

He added that they also locked the account for another business he owns that he said has nothing to do with trucks or the protests.

Brouwer said he hasn’t heard anything from police or the government on what steps to take next.

He is attempting to work with the bank to rectify the situation, but was not getting anywhere Monday, which is a bank holiday in Canada.

Brouwer also told Fox News that from what he heard in Calgary on Sunday, the truck convoy protests aren’t finished yet.

As Briana’s story continued to spread across social media, multiple questions remain on the reach of the Emergencies Act powers that allow banks to freeze accounts of people involved in the blockades.

Canadian banks have been freezing the accounts and canceling credit cards of people linked to the trucker protests in accordance with the Emergencies Act, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked last week in an attempt to clear the demonstrators from Ottawa.

Trudeau said Monday emergency powers are still needed despite the progress police have made in stamping out weeks long paralyzing protests by truckers and others angry over Canada´s COVID-19 restrictions.

‘The situation is still fragile, the state of emergency is still there,’ Trudeau said Monday. Debate in the country’s parliament about the legality of his use of the act is ongoing, with a vote expected later this week.

Trudeau noted there are some truckers that are just outside Ottawa that may be planning further blockades and his public safety minister noted there was an effort to block a border crossing in British Columbia on the weekend.

‘Even though the blockades are lifted across border openings right now, even though things seem to be resolving very well in Ottawa, this state of emergency is not over,’ Trudeau said. ‘There continues to be real concerns about the coming days.’

Lawmakers in Parliament will vote Monday night whether to allow police to continue to use emergency powers. The opposition New Democrat party has said it will support Trudeau’s Liberals, ensuring Trudeau has enough votes.

Trudeau has been blasted for the move, seen as draconian and an affront to the right to protest, but said he’s confident lawmakers will vote to continue to allow police to use emergencies act, which allows authorities to declare certain areas as no go zones.

It also allows police to freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts and compels tow truck companies to tow away vehicles.

On Monday, a reporter in Ottawa tweeted that Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told CTV that the act it ‘isn’t targeted at small donations.’

CTV asked, ‘what’s the threshold? Does the law allow a financial institution to say ‘hey Joe and Jane gave $200 to Canada Unity, to the truckers, we’re going to freeze their accounts and investigate.’ Does it allow them to do that?’

Blair responded, ‘no one is interested in that.’

The Ottawa protests – the movement’s last major stronghold – appeared to be largely over by Sunday. Fencing and police checkpoints remained.

But as of Monday, Canadian authorities said 206 bank accounts had been frozen under the power granted by federal emergencies act.

Trudeau has been blasted for the move, seen as draconian and an affront to the right to protest, ‘that ‘would never have been imposed on BLM’

The Ottawa protests – the movement’s last major stronghold – appeared to be largely over by Sunday. Fencing and police checkpoints remained

Cops are filmed shoving protesters during Saturday’s operation to break up the remaining Freedom Convoy

Canadian MP Mark Strahl (left) says the bank account of a single mom with a minimum wage job has been frozen after she donated $50 to Freedom Convoy, saying ‘This is who Justin Trudeau is actually targeting with his Emergencies Act orders’

Toronto-Dominion Bank said it froze donations from that were transferred to individual bank accounts

Mike Duheme, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) deputy commissioner of federal policing, said Sunday that finances associated with certain individuals and companies believed to be involved in the protest will continue to be frozen.

‘Provisions of this Emergencies Act have allowed us to maintain the perimeter, restrict travel and ensure that we can continue to choke off financial support and other assistance to protesters,’ Duheme said.

The RCMP froze 206 financial products, including bank and corporate accounts, Duheme said at the news conference, adding it disclosed the information of 56 entities associated with vehicles, individuals and companies; shared 253 bitcoin addresses with virtual currency exchangers; and froze a payment processing account valued at $3.8 million,

The powers have been in effect but Parliament is expected to ratify the action Monday.

Until then, there are still reports of accounts being frozen.

‘We continue to work at collecting relevant information on persons, vehicles and companies and remain in daily communication with the financial institution to assist them,’ Duheme said.

The powers under the Emergencies Act Vote allows banks to target the accounts of people who have donated to crowdfunding platforms, like the fundraising campaigns on GoFundMe and GiveSendGo, that have fueled the ongoing protests, but authorities would not give ‘specifics of whose accounts are being frozen.’

On Monday, GoFundMe was blasted for allowing the donation page to raise cash for armed Antifa members who were shot during the deadly confrontation in Portland despite axing Freedom Convoy page.

GoFundMe canceled the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser earlier this month for allegedly violating its terms of service.

Another protester held up a placard saying ‘Hold the line’ in a rallying cry to his fellow Freedom Convoy members on Saturday

Four officers carry a handcuffed protester away from the no-go zone in Ottawa

The trucker protests grew until it closed a handful of Canada-U.S. border posts and shut down key parts of the capital city for more than three weeks.

But all border blockades have now ended and the streets around the Canadian Parliament are quiet.

Ottawa protesters who vowed never to give up are largely gone, chased away by police in riot gear. The relentless blare of truckers´ horns has gone silent. A large police presence remains in Ottawa and some areas are fenced off.

‘We saw calm, peace and quiet and that was certainly a sense of relief for all of us,’ Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said.

The protests, which were first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers but also encompassed fury over the range of COVID-19 restrictions and hatred of Trudeau, reflected the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger.

The self-styled Freedom Convoy shook Canada´s reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands and interrupted trade, causing economic damage on both sides of the border. Hundreds of trucks eventually occupied the streets around Parliament, a display that was part protest and part carnival.

Authorities moved quickly to reopen the border posts, but police in Ottawa did little but issue warnings until the past couple days, even as hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters clogged the streets of the city and besieged Parliament Hill.

Truckers ignored warnings that they were risking arrest and could have their rigs seized and bank accounts frozen under the new emergency powers invoked by Trudeau.

The truckers, parked on the streets in and around Parliament, blared their horns in defiance of a court injunction against honking, issued after residents said the constant noise was making the neighborhood unlivable.

‘It´s high time that these illegal and dangerous activities stop,’ Trudeau declared in Parliament a few days ago, speaking just a few hundred meters from the protests.

On Friday, authorities launched the largest police operation in Canadian history, arresting a string of Ottawa protesters and increasing that pressure on Saturday until the streets in front of Parliament were clear.

Eventually, police arrested at least 191 people and towed away 79 vehicles. Many protesters retreated as the pressure increased.

The Ottawa protests – the movement´s last major stronghold – appeared to be largely over by Sunday. Fencing and police checkpoints remained.

‘The number of unlawful protesters has dramatically declined in the last 24 hours,’ Ottawa interim Police Chief Steve Bell said.

Authorities also said 206 bank accounts had been frozen under the power granted by federal emergencies act.

Mendicino said progress has been made but the end of the blockades might not be over. He said that targeted measures in the emergencies act allowed police to designate a wide swath of Ottawa’s downtown core to become a no-go zone and that tool alone has been extremely effective.

He said that targeted measures in the emergencies act allowed police to designate a wide swath of Ottawa’s downtown core to become a no-go zone and that tool alone has been extremely effective.

‘For the first time in three weeks the streets are calm, they are quiet and they are clear. That all followed the invocation of the emergencies act,’ Mendicino said in an interview with The Associated Press. ‘We will not use it for a single minute longer than we have to.’

Mendicino said the financial accounts of those who refused to leave will remain frozen while the act is in force but added that it is up to police to decide whose accounts get frozen.

The powers are already in effect but Parliament is expected to ratify the action Monday.

As it did in the United States, COVID-19 quickly became a political issue in Canada.

Coronavirus health restrictions became a political cudgel for Canada´s far right, which accused Trudeau of authoritarianism. But while the restrictions clearly benefitted the far-right People´s Party of Canada, things are more complicated in the Conservative Party.

The streets around the Canadian Parliament are quiet now. The Ottawa protesters who vowed never to give up are largely gone, chased away by police in riot gear. The relentless blare of truckers´ horns has gone silent.

A winter service vehicle drives through Ottawa Sunday as Canadian police make possibly the final push to clear the capital city of demonstrators who have paralyzed it by parking and camping on the streets for more than three weeks to protest against pandemic restrictions

Police vehicles have replaced big rig trucks and protesters Sunday in the main downtown area that has been fenced off with warnings for people to avoid the space or risk being arrested

A barricade blocks a street near Parliament Hill a day after police cleared a demonstration by truck drivers opposing vaccine mandates that had been entrenched for 23 days

But the trucker protest, which grew until it closed a handful of Canada-U.S. border posts and shut down key parts of the capital city for weeks, could echo for years in Canadian politics and perhaps south of the border.

The protest, which was first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers but also encompassed fury over the range of COVID-19 restrictions and hatred of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reflected the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger.

‘I think we´ve started something here,’ said Mark Suitor, a 33-year-old protester from Hamilton, Ontario, speaking as police retook control of the streets around Parliament.

Protesters had essentially occupied those streets for more than three weeks, embarrassing Trudeau and energizing Canada´s far right. Suitor believes the protests will divide the country, something he welcomes.

‘This is going to be a very big division in our country,’ he said. ‘I don´t believe this is the end.’

Police man a checkpoint inside of a barrier fence near Parliament Hill on Sunday. Police have made 191 arrests and towed 57 vehicles since they began efforts to bust up the protest

While most analysts doubt the protests will mark a historic watershed in Canadian politics, it has shaken both of Canada´s two major parties.

‘The protest has given both the Liberals and the Conservatives a black eye,’ said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. Trudeau´s Liberals look bad for allowing protesters to foments weeks of chaos in the capital city, he said, while the Conservatives look bad for championing protesters, many of them from the farthest fringes of the right.

The conservatives ‘have to be careful not to alienate more moderate voters, who are generally not sympathetic to the protesters or right-wing populism more generally,’ said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

Only recently have some Conservative leaders fully embraced the pushback against vaccine mandates and coronavirus restrictions.

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