The Department of Homeland Security is making a plan to combat the Canadian trucker convoy ahead of the Superbowl.
After United States President Joe Biden spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the convoy, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki informed reporters of the plan ahead of Sunday’s game.
“I see that the President spoke with the Prime Minister Trudeau — about the blockade. What is the White House doing to help, sort of, alleviate that — the trade issues that he raised in that call?” a reporter said.
“And more broadly, is the White House or is the government preparing for any kind of similar types of demonstrations here?” they said.
“You know, we are, of course — on reports of a similar ‘Freedom Convoy’ — I think you’re asking about, right? — in D.C. — event in D.C. in early March, the Department of Homeland Security, obviously, put out a statement on this the other night. They’re aware of these reports. They’re taking all necessary steps to ensure that the convoy does not disrupt lawful trade and transportation or interfere with federal government and law enforcement operations,” the White House press secretary said.
“On reports that this convoy is causing disruptions at the Super Bowl, the Department of Homeland Security — or could, I should say — the Department of Homeland Security is surging additional staff to its incident command post. There’s strong cooperation with the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles Police Department, and state and local authorities,” she said.
She then spoke about the potential for protests to disrupt the Superbowl, arguably the biggest sporting event of the year.
“And the Department already has a lead field coordinator and emergency operations center in place, as would be standard protocol, given this is a large event — the Super Bowl. And they will build on that. There’s already 500 DHS personnel providing extensive air and maritime security resources,” the press secretary said.
“So, we are in both close touch with our Canadian counterparts, also with local officials through our Department of Homeland Security. Our Secretary of Transportation is also deeply involved in this. And we’re working to address this on all fronts,” she said.
Fox News reported:
Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa, where truck drivers are advocating for an end to the government’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, are expected to take off in numerous U.S. cities, including Los Angeles.
DHS warned U.S. law enforcement and public safety officials this week that a trucker convoy protesting vaccine mandates could begin Feb. 13, the same day as Super Bowl LVI, and could create significant traffic jams and supply disruptions.
“We certainly believe in peaceful protests,” the press secretary said, but she warned, “Whatever their intended stated purpose, this effort … has the potential to have a huge impact on workers and the American public.”
It was mere days before this press briefing that Psaki appeared to suggest that the trucker convoy was not about vaccine mandates.
“I know there’s been some suggestion — not by reporters necessarily at all — but that this congestion is related to the vaccine requirements. It’s not. I mean, I — I’m saying — I’m going to get to the protests. But the protests going on across Canada, which have spread to a bridge, are leading to sporadic congestion and blockages,” the press secretary said.
“I would — just to go back to my point I was trying to make is that across — what we’ve seen with these requirements is, across indus- — a range of industries, vaccine — vaccination requirements have been implemented with no disruptions, have helped increase vaccinations.
“These requirements help protect more people from COVID. And there’s been zero indication across these industries that they would lead to disruptions, including on this policy,” she said.
“We, of course, support, as you know, the right to freedom of speech and protest. But we — and while we do see some of these congestions due to protests, this is clear that these disruptions have broadened in scope beyond the vaccine requirement implementation.
“We — beyond that, we are, of course, in touch with our Canadian counterparts, but I don’t have any updates in terms of specific steps,” she said.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
