getting around

The MAGA Trucker Convoy Is Having a Hard Time

People watch as several vehicles in a convoy of truck drivers and people protesting against COVID-19-related mandates drive near the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2022 Photo: Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

As the MAGA trucker convoy continues to honk its way around the Capitol — protesting, among a mishmash of right-wing grievances, vaccine mandates that have largely ended anyway — it’s recently run into some bad luck. The rigs are big, but sometimes, so are the problems.

On Monday, the Daily Beast’s Zachary Petrizzo reported that a number of the truckers seem to be getting mysteriously sick with bad coughs. One even went to urgent care, describing his illness as being “hit by a bus” (it’s kind of like a truck, but one where you might have to wear a mask inside).

Over the weekend, the drivers were undone by one person on a bike. The cyclist, who had a nice green basket, slowly wheeled along amidst the honks. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you, it’s too loud,” he said to a passerby.

An internal dispute also broke out after some truckers boxed in a Tesla driver for an alleged brake check. The phrase “citizen’s arrest” was thrown around a lot.

They’re also going through some transitions in leadership. “The convoy’s de facto leader and spokesperson, Brian Brase, left late last week to spend time with family and did not return by Monday, so a new person was giving out instructions,” Vice reported. Bad news for family.

Finally, too many people have been giving them the finger. (“We go around the Beltway — birds are flying,” one trucker said.) Truckers claim the Maryland State Police were not answering their calls about the middle fingers, a characterization the department disputes. Brase, before he left to spend quality time with his family and never returned, encouraged the convoy to call 911 and report the rude gestures there instead.

The MAGA Trucker Convoy Is Having a Hard Time