Editor's Note: Go here for the latest updates on Saturday, March 5.
Hundreds of vehicles crowded the streets of Hagerstown, Maryland, Friday before a planned convoy protest in the D.C. area Saturday.
The trucker’s convoy has picked up hundreds of people in trucks, cars and pickups and staged at the Hagerstown Speedway.
The People’s Convoy is protesting COVID-19-related mandates.
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“I want the government to know that this is not OK,” protester Cory Polanek said.
D.C.'s homeland security department says the convoy could disrupt traffic around the District this weekend.
“We expect to see some impacts from the convoys as early as tomorrow,” an official said. “The numbers of trucks and where they’re going and how they’re getting there tend to shift day by day.”
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But organizers say they do not plan on shutting down the Beltway or other roads.
“I’m protesting because the Democrats are really bad,” one protester said. “And they have us locked up, and we’re American people and we know what’s good for us and our family.”
Many mask mandates have already been lifted around the nation.
“Just to make sure that they stay ended and that this does not happen again,” Polanek said.
Federal and local law enforcement have repeatedly said they are aware truck convoys plan to visit the area, and those agencies are prepared.
