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."
Subscribe to 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.
-
Penn wipes trans swimmer records in deal with Trump
speed read The University of Pennsylvania will bar transgender students from its women's sports teams and retroactively strip a trans female swimmer of her titles
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible