The US Defense Department has approved deploying 700 National Guard troops and equipment in Washington to assist police control the truckers’ protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates during the State of the Union address on March 1, spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.
“The Secretary of Defense [Lloyd Austin] has approved the provision of 400 District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG) personnel and 50 vehicles to support the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia at designated traffic posts”, Kirby said in a statement.
Austin also has approved providing an additional 300 National Guard personnel from the neighboring US states, he said.
Kirby explained the National Guard is providing support at the request of Washington’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
The District of Columbia National Guard troops will be prepared to assist the Washington Metropolitan Police Department at traffic posts as soon as operationally and logistically feasible through March 7, Kirby said.
The planned protest in DC follows the pattern of the Canadian “Freedom Convoys,” which local truckers organized in Ottawa weeks ago to protest against the government’s decision to require COVID vaccination certificates for truckers entering Canada.
The protesters in the US plan to launch several convoys, organizing them online under various names, such as the People’s Convoy and the American Truckers Freedom Fund. They start off in different parts of the country and on various days, with Washington, DC set as the destination. Some of them are scheduled to arrive in time for Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, which is set to be held historically late this year – on 1 March.
