Inspired by the movement created by Canadian truckers, anti-Covid lockdown and vaccine mandate protests are springing up around the world. The American iteration has been dubbed the ‘People’s Freedom Convoy’ and is set to kick off Wednesday, when truckers will begin a trek to the nation’s capital timed for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. 

As in Ottawa, however, they may face a harsh crackdown when they arrive.

Rather than embracing the Bill of Rights, the Biden administration seems to be adopting the policies of Justin Trudeau’s regime in Canada. The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the Capitol Police had requested a deployment of National Guard troops to contain the protesters. 

Later in the day, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin granted the request and will send 400 soldiers and 50 large tactical vehicles from the National Guard to the streets of DC. The capital city will have a military presence from February 26th to March 7th, with the DoD noting that the troops will “provide support at designated traffic posts, provide command and control, and cover sustainment requirements.”

The Capitol Police announced last week they were considering sealing the Capitol grounds with temporary fencing prior to Biden’s SOTU. After the January 6th riot in the halls of Congress last year, thousands of National Guard soldiers and miles of razor-wire fencing were placed around the Capitol, remaining for the first several months of the Biden presidency. 

Since taking office, Biden has often split the world into two camps: democracy and authoritarianism. As the host of the ‘Summit of Democracy,’ a virtual event held by the US in December, the president championed himself as a Western heir of the enlightenment. Crushing unarmed opposition protesters with soldiers, however, is the hallmark of an authoritarian thug.