(NewsNation Now) — The Washington, D.C., Police Department is mounting a large response plan for the possibility of a truck convoy against coronavirus restrictions coming to the area.
Starting Tuesday, specialized units will be activated, and on Wednesday, about 500 officers per day will join civil disturbance units to respond to any protests. An additional 200 or so officers will work traffic duty, including detectives that normally investigate crimes.
This comes after a memo from the Department of Homeland Security warned its law enforcement partners that planned demonstrations among truck drivers to protest vaccine mandates could disrupt President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address on March 1, according to The Hill.
The memo notes that protests don’t include plans for violence. But “if hundreds of trucks converge in a major metropolitan city, the potential exists to severely disrupt transportation, federal government operations, commercial facilities and emergency services through gridlock and potential counter-protests,” it said.
Multiple sources told NewsNation that there is always a big security posture in days leading up to the State of the Union, but this year, it’s even bigger.
Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said this heightened response is prompted in part by the convoys in Canada, which have caused numerous issues along the border.
Screenshots of groups planning for a U.S. convoy on Facebook that would stop by Washington show a departure date of Feb. 23.
District Police are canceling time off for officers between Feb. 22 and March 5.
However, it still remains unclear how large this demonstration will actually be, or if it will even happen.
According to the memo, the convoy plans to travel from California to Washington and drivers from Canada may join as well.
Truckers from across Canada have been involved in a weekslong protest, demonstrating against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s COVID-19 vaccine and other mandates.
The Freedom Convoy, as supporters are calling it, has shut down Canadian border crossings into the U.S., causing economic damage to both countries.
A border blockade at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit disrupted the flow of auto parts from the U.S. and Canada, forcing the industry to curtail production. A final blockade on the border in Manitoba across from North Dakota ended peacefully on Wednesday.
Demonstrations have drawn right-wing extremists, who are armed in some cases. Many Ottawa residents have been angered by what they say has been harassment and intimidation they’ve faced from the truckers on the streets.
On Monday, Trudeau invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act, which gives law enforcement the authority to declare blockades legal, meaning they can tow away trucks, arrest drivers, suspend their licenses and freeze their bank accounts.
Blocking a bridge in Washington can mean a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 and 30 days in jail.
