Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has agreed to extend a National Guard deployment on the streets of the nation’s capital – set to face down the anti-Covid mandate “People’s Convoy” as the American public remains fixated on Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced the move on Monday, saying the Department of Defense had extended the “previously approved National Guard support in the District, including around the US Capitol area.” Austin first authorized the 700-troop deployment in late February, which was set to expire Monday.
The National Guard will provide assistance with traffic through Wednesday, Kirby added, though the mission’s end-date could be pushed back yet again should the protests persist.
Emulating Canadian long-haul truckers who staged massive demonstrations in Ottawa and elsewhere demanding an end to the country’s draconian Covid regime, the US “People’s Convoy” took off for DC late last month, some traveling from as far away as California.
Hundreds of big rig truckers are reportedly now assembled in Hagerstown, Maryland, about a 70-mile drive from the capital. While some convoy leaders say they have no plans to enter DC, fearing arrest and harsh prison sentences akin to those handed down to January 6 rioters, others interviewed in Hagerstown have been more defiant.
“The government works for us, and we are not afraid. I’m not scared, I don’t care what they try. We’re here for the long-haul,” one trucker told Rebel News.
The American press has paid relatively little attention to Biden’s deployment of soldiers to the nation’s capital during his State of the Union address – initially involving 400 troops but later expanded to 700. Though former President Donald Trump was repeatedly denounced as a fascist dictator for similar deployments against protesters in DC, few have said the same about the current administration.
Protesters in Moscow however, are receiving ample coverage from US news agencies. Courageously, thousands of Russians have stood up against Putin’s war in Ukraine and have been subject to brutal arrests and stiff penalties. While media outlets have been rightfully critical of the Kremlin’s crackdowns, most have failed to note the troops set to be unleashed on peaceful protesters in their own backyard.
