Trucker convoy won't enter D.C. out of fear government will 'do to us what they did to' Jan. 6 rioters

The organizer of the "People's Convoy" protest against COVID-19 restrictions and mandates urged demonstrators on Monday not to drive into Washington, D.C., The Daily Wire reports.
The convoy, which includes approximately 1,000 vehicles and is using Hagerstown, Maryland, as a home base, slowed traffic on the Capital Beltway on Sunday and plans to continue circling the road at the minimum legal speed every day. It will not, however, enter D.C. proper, organizers claim.
"I am fearful — [myself] and the organizers are fearful — of them trying to do to us what they did to those involved in Jan. 6," organizer Brian Brase said. "It is our belief that they will try to do that."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Another protester claimed the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was "a set-up" to justify a crackdown on conservatives and that it "would be a set-up now," if the convoy drove into D.C. proper.
This view has become widespread on the right. Fox News host Tucker Carlson produced the documentary Patriot Purge, which alleged that the government has seized on the events of Jan. 6 as a pretext for a "domestic War on Terror" targeting "half the country." Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has suggested that undercover FBI agents may have played a role in inciting the mob to storm the Capitol.
The Week's Damon Linker described Patriot Purge as "conspiracy-laden," while The Dallas Morning News said Cruz was "peddling" a "baseless conspiracy theory."
Despite Base's warnings, some protesters insist they won't be satisfied until they've reached Capitol Hill. "[T]hat flag on the back of my truck will go down to Constitution Avenue between the White House and the Washington Monument," one man told Reuters.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
October 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being released
The Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia James
Speed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in Chicago
Speed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats