Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops to the nation’s capitol in preparation for the trucker convoy protest headed to Washington, D.C. next week.
The troops are to be utilized for traffic control, and will not be armed or take part in law enforcement or surveillance activites, according to NPR.
It’s uncertain exactly what the plan of action is when separate convoys converge from different starting points with different starting dates. Some organizers say they will roll briefly through the streets of D.C., while others are focusing on shutting down the Beltway surrounding D.C.
The first of the series of convoys was expected to head out today at 9amET from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to reach the Beltway at the afternoon rush hour and constrict traffic like “a giant boa constrictor,” according to organizer Bob Bolus.
How that’s going:
At 8amET, Bolus reported two flat tires that caused a delay, and it’s not looking good so far for the Scranton to D.C. expedition.