WASHINGTON – The movement of truckers protesting vaccination orders in Canada has spread south across the border and the federal government is warning that a coast-to-coast convoy could disrupt the Super Bowl this weekend, President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next month: and potentially anything in between.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obtained data that truckers are potentially blocking roads in major U. S. metropolitan cities. “The U. S. Department of Homeland Security to protest, among other things, vaccination orders for truckers,” the branch warned in a Feb. 16 statement. 8 newsletters sent to state and local law enforcement partners and received through USA TODAY.
The “Internal Use Only” report is ready through the DHS Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis’s Current and Emerging Threat Center, or CETC. He said the convoy could begin in California in mid-February, with designs most likely to disrupt the Super Bowl, which is scheduled for Sunday at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area.
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After that, the convoy will cross the country, aiming to reach Washington, D. C. in time for the annual presidential address on Capitol Hill on March 1, says the DHS memo sent to police across the country.
“While there is no indication of planned violence lately, if a bunch of trucks converge on a major metropolitan city, they may seriously disrupt transportation, federal government operations, advertising services and emergency centers through traffic jams and potential counter-protests. “” said the note.
The protests began when drivers opposed a Canadian government mandate requiring drivers entering the country to be fully vaccinated or subject to testing and quarantine requirements. Last month, DHS began requiring all non-U. S. Americans seeking to enter the U. S. terminals at U. S. borders U. S. -Mexico and U. S. To be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide evidence of similar vaccination. Ok.
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And while the protests started modestly, they have a significant political factor for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as others in Canada have rallied around truckers and their rejection of vaccination mandates.
A DHS official showed that the document had been shared widely with the department’s thousands of local and state police departments, and said they were all working together to minimize disruptions and plan for contingencies.
DHS is tracking reports of a possible convoy that would possibly consider traveling to several U. S. cities. It is collaborating heavily with the federal, state and local government to frequently assess the potential physical and economic threats it poses, the branch official told USA TODAY, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation.
Citing unspecified law enforcement sources, the DHS memo warned that the protest organization intends to begin in California, adding Los Angeles, where, it said, Super Bowl LVI and accompanying events “are expected to attract some 70,000 participants to the game. “and millions of people. ” in the Los Angeles area.
“It has also been reported that Canadian truckers will possibly sign up for the Washington DC event,” where Biden is expected to face a congressional consultation on Capitol Hill on March 1, the report added.
So far, according to the DHS report, “we have also not noticed domestic violent extremists calling for event-related violence, nor have we noticed them attempting to exploit this First Amendment-protected activity. “
But, he added, DHS’s Center for Current and Emerging Threats has noticed a steady increase in the number of social media accounts, pages, groups, channels and chats created in connection with the U. S. -based convoy. USA And he noted that in recent days, Canadian truckers involved in closing parts of the capital of Ottawa have now blocked the Canadian side of two Canada-U. S. border crossings. USA
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The Canada-based “Freedom Convoy” blocked access to the Canadian side of the Sweet Grass access port in Montana, creating traffic jams and disrupting the passage of goods and facilities there, DHS said. The memo quoted Canadian police as describing a “total blockade. “” of Highway 4, which acts as a major artery for the entry and exit of advertising products from the United States.
The DHS memo also reported that the Canadian convoy continued to intermittently block the Canadian of Ambassador Bridge at Detroit Windsor Crossing, one of the busiest border crossings between the U. S. and Canada. The U. S. and Canada, forcing traffic to be redirected to other nearby border crossings.
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The U. S. convoy The U. S. government is gaining momentum, according to social media posts, adding a special Facebook site for “The People’s Convoy. “This site now includes many references to a “DC convoy. “Some participants have appeared in recent days on Fox News.
And the state and local government told DHS they found social media posts on various platforms that refer to commandos about how an unnamed convoy can have an effect on Super Bowl security operations. A user also asks other people to travel to Washington, D. C. and in the state. capitals, according to the DHS report. ” In addition, the published data gave instructions for achieving LA in Washington DC, adding map screenshots. “
The state and government also shared with DHS a flyer posted on Facebook for a “Stop Super Bowl” medical freedom protest scheduled for Sunday, which also mentions the convoy of trucks.
“The Super Bowl protests are as American as the Super Bowl itself. The NFL has extensive plans to make sure the protests don’t interfere with the game itself, and I’m sure they’re triggering plans to deal with a convoy of trucks,” S said. Warrick, who until June 2019 was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Policy at DHS.
What worries security and law enforcement the most, Warrick said, is the possibility that even most planned nonviolent protests could turn violent.
“Beyond that, the biggest fear is the resilience of the American economy,” said Warrick, who has pleaded with five national security secretaries in his 12 years at DHS. He is now a principal investigator and director of the Future of DHS assignment at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC.
“Recent disruptions at U. S. seaports”The U. S. government has attracted the attention of the White House, DHS, Commerce and other Cabinet departments, to mention the states and local governments involved,” Warrick said.
And while those outages have been resolved more frequently, “the trucks blocking the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit show the vulnerability of our economy just in time,” Warrick said. “It will be vital for those tasked with ensuring the resilience of American society and the economy to make changes so that the loss of a bridge, or trucker movements elsewhere, do not disrupt production in the United States. “
So far, DHS law enforcement partners in Washington have hinted that there has been no increase in hotel bookings in the region, implying that a giant organization is visiting the area. However, it is also possible for truck drivers to sleep in their vehicles.
DHS, as always, has designated the Super Bowl and surrounding events as a special national security event, or an event of domestic or foreign importance that may be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activities. with the U. S. Secret Service’s Federal Coordinator for the occasion, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Over the past year, the official said, DHS has stepped up its efforts to share timely and actionable intelligence and data with national and local authorities, and for its operational coordination with partners at all levels of government and the private sector.
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently traveled to Los Angeles to receive a long-planned briefing on the safety of the event, and DHS has long committed more than 500 people to offering security assistance over the weekend.
The DHS official also said DHS spent the past year working with federal, state and local partners to beef up security in and around Washington and a simulation experiment that evolved data-driven recommendations for regional security, the official said.