By Corinne Murdock |

Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07) advocated that authorities take away the trucks from truckers participating in the U.S. version of the “Freedom Convoy” that took Canada’s capital by storm one month ago: “Freedom Convoy USA 2022.” In response to the pending convoy protest, Washington, D.C. law enforcement called in support from the National Guard.

One of the leaders of Freedom Convoy USA 2022, Kyle Sefcik, informed President Joe Biden in a video that their convoy would be meeting in Washington, D.C. on March 1: the day of Biden’s State of the Union Address. Sefcik clarified that the truckers will protest lawfully and constitutionally: their routes are public, they have a permit for the National Mall, and will come peacefully. He requested that Biden end the national state of emergency and all mandates related to COVID-19. 

“Sir, the world is watching us, because they know that if what’s happening in Canada happens here to us in the land of the free, then freedom as we know it is gone,” said Sefcik. “The government, the elected officials of both parties have failed us tremendously, and now it’s time for us, we the people, to fix this, to end this. We’re ready to get back to our lives, the ones promised and guaranteed in the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the contract that you signed and swore an oath to under the one true God. This is simple. End this.”

For Gallego, it appears that protests are only valid insofar as they align with his personal political preferences. As riots broke out nationwide from Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, Gallego pledged to the Arizona Republic that he would take to the streets alongside BLM protestors in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would deploy military personnel to quash violence outbreaks at the protests.

Freedom Convoy truckers and protestors occupied downtown Ottawa for nearly an entire month in protest of the country’s COVID-19 mandates and restrictions. Law enforcement was only able to break up the protest successfully after freezing protestors’ bank accounts and crypto transactions, towing away vehicles, arresting protestors, and deploying pepper spray and stun grenades.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.