The People’s Convoy Says It’s Going Back to Washington

“The People’s Convoy” trucker movement is heading back to Washington, according to an announcement published on the group’s website on May 5.

The convoy is planning to leave Post Falls, Idaho, on May 5, according to the website.

“We encourage everyone to join us in this journey back to DC,” the announcement reads.

The organizers noted that the convoy’s “immediate needs are money and boots on the ground.”

The website also included what appears to be an updated map showing a route to Washington from Post Falls.

“There are no stopping locations highlighted on this map. We will update soon,” the website reads. “Plan to join us at any time along the route! Every person with a heartbeat should be joining this movement in securing freedom for all Americans and future generations.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the group, which was set up to fight COVID-19 mandates, for comment. According to the group’s website, organizers are seeking to end the national state of emergency that was declared over the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, the convoy traveled from California to Washington before camping out in Hagerstown, Maryland, and traveling to the Washington area for several weeks. However, the Washington police department erected barricades at highway exits, bridges, and other roadways to prevent convoy vehicles from entering the city.

“Enough is enough. When we go back to D.C., we are not the same convoy that went there the first time,” one speaker said during a recent convoy rally, WJLA reported. “We are not the same convoy that left there. We are coming back with teeth and a backbone!”

Earlier this week, a group of 16 convoy members filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), arguing that the decision to block them from entering the city violated their constitutional rights.

“MPD formed the blockades for the sole purpose of preventing American citizens from entering our nation’s capital to exercise their constitutionally protected right to free speech,” the lawsuit reads. “Of course, such action under color of state law violates Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights.”

The lawsuit also states that the plaintiffs are “hardworking Americans” who went to Washington to “lawfully exercise their First Amendment rights in protest of the current administration’s continued state of emergency declaration and COVID-19-related policies.”

The lawsuit is asking a Washington district court to make the local government grant the truckers access into the city.

The U.S. trucker protest was inspired by a Canadian movement known as the Freedom Convoy, which protested for weeks in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, against COVID-19 mandates. In response, the Canadian government took unprecedented action against the truckers, including declaring emergency powers, shutting down bank accounts, and targeting the convoy’s capacity to receive donations.