The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned law enforcement agencies that a convoy of truckers protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates could affect this weekend’s Super Bowl in Los Angeles.
In the DHS Bulletin issued to authorities across the United States, the agency said it “has received reports of truck drivers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the U.S. in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truck drivers.”
The DHS warning was first reported by Yahoo News. “The convoy will potentially begin in California as early as mid-February and arrive in Washington, DC, as late as mid-March, potentially impacting the Super Bowl LVI scheduled for 13 February and the State of the Union Address scheduled for 1 March,” the bulletin said.
This latest warning comes as a key U.S.-Canada crossing has been shut down by the “Freedom Convoy,” as the protest by hundreds of truckers and others who converged on Ottawa, Canada’s capital, is known.
While the Canadian protest originally started last month in opposition to vaccination requirements for cross-border truck drivers, it has now taken on a broader, darker demeanor with the addition of right-wing groups and figures from the U.S. and elsewhere who offered support.
Protesters have blocked streets in Ottawa and snarled traffic as authorities have cut off their fuel access and arrested nearly two dozen people accused of “unlawful demonstrations.”
The broad economic impact for U.S. and Canada
Ford Motors suspended engine output in Windsor while its Oakville factory near Toronto is operating with a reduced schedule, as it warned the Ambassador Bridge closure “could have widespread impact on all automakers in the U.S. and Canada,” reports Reuters.
Chrysler-maker Stellantis has also faced a shortage of parts at its assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario, where it had to end shifts early on Tuesday, but was able to resume production on Wednesday.
The bulletin warning of a U.S. protest says there are no indications that violence is planned or that domestic extremists are calling for violence. But if hundreds of trucks converge on key cities, the protest could disrupt transportation and emergency services through gridlock and counterprotests.
