Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz joined the “People’s Convoy” of truckers at Hagerstown Speedway on Thursday morning and joined to ride in the passenger’s seat of the lead truck as the protest began its fourth day.
“Thank you to every trucker who is standing up for freedom for every man, woman, and child in America!” Cruz posted alongside a video of him riding in the truck leading the convoy.
Thank you to every trucker who is standing up for freedom for every man, woman, and child in America! pic.twitter.com/DJeoHtWEXy
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 10, 2022
Cruz also addressed the truck drivers at the speedway prior to the start of the convoy.
“God bless The People’s Convoy!” the senator tweeted in an earlier post.
God bless The People’s Convoy! pic.twitter.com/lAcgqauYqX
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 10, 2022
“The convoy is not [going into D.C.],” driver Brian Brase said from inside the lead truck, according to The Washington Post. “The convoy’s going to continue its normal operation.”
The trucks have been driving in circles around the Capital Beltway to protest COVID-19 mandates and other restrictions to American freedom.
Protesters and supporters joined in the excitement as Cruz not only spoke to the convoy but then joined by climbing into the passenger seat of the lead vehicle.
Cruz will be riding in one of the trucks for today’s convoy. pic.twitter.com/7Q8bp2SrYc
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) March 10, 2022
“Your voice is being heard,” Cruz told the crowd during his speech, according to the Post. “What the men and women want here is for the government to leave you the hell alone … That is the most American sentiment you could imagine.”
The move comes just two days after Cruz and fellow GOP Sen. Ron Johnson from Wisconsin sat down to talk with the convoy’s leaders on Tuesday.
.@HoustonChron : Sen. Ted Cruz meets with leaders of ‘Peoples Convoy’ trucker vaccine protest in Washington
https://t.co/pUF763pOEA— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 9, 2022
The movement reportedly departed from California on February 23, and the convoy was joined by hundreds of others by the time the convoy reached the Maryland speedway location. The focus on peaceful demonstration has been emphasized. The Daily Wire previously reported:
“The message of The People’s Convoy is simple. The last 23 months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a rough road for all Americans to travel: spiritually, emotionally, physically, and – not least –financially,” the convoy says in a manifesto. “With the advent of the vaccine and workable therapeutic agents, along with the hard work of so many sectors that contributed to declining COVID-19 cases and severity of illness, it is now time to re-open the country.”
“The average American worker needs to be able to end-run the economic hardships of the last two years, and get back to the business of making bread – so they can pay their rents and mortgages and help jumpstart this economy. To that end, it’s time for elected officials to work with the blue collar and white-collar workers of America and restore accountability and liberty – by lifting all mandates and ending the state of emergency – as COVID is well-in-hand now, and Americans need to get back to work in a free and unrestricted manner,” the organizers wrote.
The convoy was originally inspired by the popular “Freedom Convoy” trucking protests in Canada. The movement lasted for several weeks during January and February. The protest against Canada’s truck driver vaccine mandate included thousands of trucks traveling to the nation’s capital of Ottawa as well as to border crossings prior to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s controversial decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to crack down on protesters.