DHS Warns Of Possible Trucker Threat That Could Affect Super Bowl, Biden Address

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said in a memo to law enforcement that it received reports of truckers possibly planning protests in major cities, warning that the protests could affect the Super Bowl and President Joe Biden’s upcoming State of the Union address.

The outcry could be similar to truck driver protests in Canada that put Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a political bind.

The DHS said a group of truck drivers could be “planning to block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates,” The Hill reported. In the memo shared with police partners, the DHS said that the protests could take place in California first, as early as mid-February, “potentially impacting the Super Bowl” as well as “the State of the Union address.”

The Super Bowl is scheduled to be held on Feb. 13, while Biden’s first State of the Union address has been set for March 1.

The DHS warning further noted that “the convoy could severely disrupt transportation, federal government, and law enforcement operations through gridlock and potential counterprotests,” Yahoo News reported. The agency said that while the truckers’ plan “appears to be purely aspirational because the event is only being discussed online,” the situation “could change quickly.” The convoy is expected to start in Los Angeles, California, and end up in Washington D.C.

A DHS official told Yahoo that protesting truckers “are definitely going to follow the Canadian model and shut down Washington,” alluding to the widespread demonstrations in Ottawa last week.

The said protests in Canada called the "Freedom Convoy" largely disrupted traffic in the capital as hundreds of truck drivers brought Ottawa to a standstill over vaccine mandates for the truckers.

Speaking with CNN, a DHS spokesperson said that so far, there have been no “specific calls for violence” related to the convoy, but that the agency continues to cooperate with its partners to ensure the safety of communities.

Jared Holt, a fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, told Rolling Stone that the “desire to provide an American answer to the Canadian protests and cause havoc and headaches is completely there.” Holt studies right-wing activities, and he believes what’s lacking in plans to put Washington and other U.S. metros in a standstill “is a clear plan and call to action.”

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki appeared to shrug off the possibility of a trucker convoy disrupting Biden’s upcoming address. Speaking to reporters, Psaki said “everybody can peacefully protest,” New York Post reported. She went on to reiterate that “we know that [vaccine] requirements work.”

The U.S. government requires non-citizen workers in “essential” industries such as the trucking sector to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before they can cross U.S. land borders. Canada requires a two-week home quarantine for truck drivers who aren’t fully vaccinated after crossing the U.S.-Canadian border.