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You are here: Home / Politics / domestic terrorists / Sunday Night Open Thread: Farewell, for Now, to the ‘People’s Convoy’

Sunday Night Open Thread: Farewell, for Now, to the ‘People’s Convoy’

by Anne Laurie|  August 7, 202210:28 pm| 42 Comments

This post is in: domestic terrorists, Enhanced Protest Techniques, Grifters Gonna Grift, Open Threads, Protest Is the New Brunch

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After covering versions of the People’s Convoy for six months: today was the end of it. In the end, they accomplished absolutely nothing besides looping the Beltway, fighting each other, spamming the emergency line, badgering DC residents, & wasting fuel.

— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) August 5, 2022

But the grift will never die…

The People’s Convoy left D.C., but these folks are still here – The Washington Post https://t.co/9NtxHT7IOf

— Truth Finder (@Truthfinder1235) August 7, 2022

… The response, instead, has been mostly indifference. As well as some heckling and trolling. And some criticism that the 1776 Restoration Movement is just another group using a narrowly defined patriotism to grift for dollars and social media clout.

The protesters deny all of that. They say their cause is pure. For the past few weeks in Washington, their morning ritual has been the same. The first-risers get coffee going. Someone puts out doughnuts and fruit and snacks. Ice-filled coolers are restocked with water bottles…

Their demands are both insistent and vague. When asked for specifics, the members will say that they want representatives to recognize that they work for the people and address their grievances.

What the protest boils down to for most is a belief that the federal government should have much less authority over state governments when it comes to deciding almost every issue.

Support for that position here has been hard to garner. Most visitors have ignored them. The majority of the people who have stopped to talk with them have been foreigners, Fisher said. “They want to know what we’re about,” he said…

“This is family,” says Ohio truck driver and evangelical minister David Riddell, 57, the group’s leader, who said he never joined a protest until he connected with the People’s Convoy earlier this year. His eyes brim with tears. “So far in this movement, I’ve baptized three of them in the Potomac, renewed the vows of another couple, celebrated the 57th wedding anniversary with another one. This is family.”

In the family, Riddell allows debate and input on the issues, but he makes the final decisions, he said. He is also a member of the Proud Boys, the far-right extremist group that has a number of its leaders facing federal charges of seditious conspiracy and “opposing the lawful transfer of presidential power by force” on Jan. 6, 2021.

Riddell says he was not at the Capitol that day and has told his followers that if they choose violence, then he will no longer take part in the protest…

Many in the splinter group say they are anti-socialist and anti-big government and anti anything they think is anti-American. Their food and gas expenses are funded, they say, by other Americans who feel the same way they do. The group’s brochure solicits donations through Cash App, Venmo and Zelle. Riddell estimates the group has raised about $73,000 since forming.

They don’t believe mainstream news and get their information from far-right websites. They also follow each other’s live streams (there are lots of live streams). In their shared distrust of government and politicians and media, they found a community of like-minded souls…

If some of the group’s goals were philosophical and long-term, some of their needs were practical and immediate. When he first led his group into the District, Riddell said didn’t think he should need a permit to protest. “The Constitution is our permit,” he said defiantly. But protesters need port-a-potties. And port-a-potties need a permit. “The toilets is what broke me,” Riddell said, laughing.

For showers and to get a break from camping out in their cars, members occasionally headed to their base camp, a truck stop 83 miles away in Bunker Hill, W.Va., where their supplies of food, water, hygiene products, toilet paper and snacks are stored…

There have also been ongoing hostilities with members of another offshoot of the People’s Convoy who have accused the 1776 Restoration Movement of having members who are convicted sex offenders. Riddell said there was a former member of the group who had been convicted of child molestation in Indiana but that that person has left. That hasn’t stopped the bickering, online and in person, between the two groups.

On Monday, the group’s protest permit expires. By then, the last of the 1776 Restoration Movement protesters will have packed up their signs and flags and camp chairs and coolers and retreated to Bunker Hill, where they plan to regroup, reorganize, reread the Constitution and prepare to return in early September to seek redress of their grievances once more.

TBogg reportorial sighting:

These are some of the biggest losers in the entire universe. Complete idiots. Not even smart enough to be considered dumbasses. https://t.co/qC1hm0f0vf

— Jimmy Malone, Liberal & Ultra-Masker (@malonespeaking) August 7, 2022

The Canadian version was a lot more ‘successful’ in the short term, for reasons.

In Canada, the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests amplified anti-government sentiment among Canadians angry at COVID restrictions and, less visibly, offered a hook for anti-establishment and far-right voices to draw a bigger audience https://t.co/l7hMamevID

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 4, 2022

Making chicken salad from… well, you know:

… Extremists used the convoy “as a pulpit to get their ideas across and, in that sense, it was a success,” said David Hofmann, associate professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick, who has been researching extremism in Canada for about a decade.

They did that directly, with talk of deposing and prosecuting the heads of Canadian government during the protests, as the convoy’s organizers declared was their goal in a “Memorandum of Understanding” leading up to the blockade.

But they were also able to do that less directly, by talking up the merits of the convoy on social media and podcasts that also promoted more extremist rhetoric and conspiracy theories…

Around 30% of Canadians agreed with the convoy’s message in February at the height of the protests, a number that has since shrunk to 25% in July, according to polling research firm Ekos Research Associates.

[Can we compromise on 27%?]

Though most COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, wearing masks and vaccine requirements have been lifted in recent months, smaller anti-government protests have continued, with some held as recently as the national holiday on July 1…

With broad support for policies like universal healthcare and gun control, Canada has long been viewed as more moderate than its southern neighbor. But analysts say right-wing extremism has long had a home north of the U.S. border — and the “Freedom Convoy” movement and related anti-government protests against COVID-19 restrictions have given it new momentum.

A 2015 study identified about 100 far-right extremist groups. The number has tripled since then, Hofmann said.

Larger groups have splintered but the overall number of participants has also grown, Hofmann said.

He and his colleagues have identified about 1,200 visibly active participants who have either had contact with police or the media or have been active on social media, he said.

This is up from previous counts but changing methodologies make comparisons difficult, he said…

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Reader Interactions

42Comments

  1. 1.

    different-church-lady

    August 7, 2022 at 10:36 pm

    In the end, they accomplished absolutely nothing besides looping the Beltway, fighting each other, spamming the emergency line, badgering DC residents, & wasting fuel.

    “HOW CAN YOU CALL THAT NOTHING?!?”

  2. 2.

    Spanky

    August 7, 2022 at 10:38 pm

    Splitters.

  3. 3.

    dmsilev

    August 7, 2022 at 10:41 pm

    Winning!

    Protests, of course, are as common as joggers on the National Mall. Getting passersby to pay attention can be a challenge. On a recent weekday, a small group of young tourists stopped a short distance from the protesters, taking photos with their phones and inching closer for better shots. But the object of their attention wasn’t the people or the flags or the signs. It was an albino squirrel that sat nearby munching on a piece of bread.

    In fairness, the squirrel is undoubtedly more photogenic.

  4. 4.

    piratedan

    August 7, 2022 at 10:47 pm

    @different-church-lady: hell, that’s a full-fledged GOP legislative agenda!

  5. 5.

    eclare

    August 7, 2022 at 10:47 pm

    @dmsilev:   Love it.

  6. 6.

    Spanky

    August 7, 2022 at 10:49 pm

    As further evidence that there is no God, people who were not part of the Pibble’s Convoy were struck and killed by lightning on the Mall this week.

  7. 7.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    August 7, 2022 at 10:52 pm

    These dipshits make the Occupy movement look disciplined and substantive in hindsight.

  8. 8.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 7, 2022 at 10:54 pm

    “I’m a peacock Captain, you gotta let me fly on this one!”

  9. 9.

    Gwangung

    August 7, 2022 at 10:57 pm

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: That’s actually a hallmark of left wing protests….

  10. 10.

    bbleh

    August 7, 2022 at 11:00 pm

    Put yourself in the position of a propagandist for the White Nationalist Party takeover of the US, and ask whether these guys were an asset or a liability.  Did they do more for the Cause by promoting it and showcasing the resentment and frustration (and, uh, folk wisdom) that motivates it, or did they damage the Cause by looking like a bunch of dumb-asses?

    On balance, my money’s on the latter, but maybe I’m just an optimist.

  11. 11.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 7, 2022 at 11:01 pm

    @Spanky: ​ 

    Groomer.

  12. 12.

    Chetan Murthy

    August 7, 2022 at 11:14 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:  @Spanky: you guys are a hoot!

  13. 13.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    August 7, 2022 at 11:15 pm

    Also too:

    the grift will never die

    rotating tag

  14. 14.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 7, 2022 at 11:25 pm

    Tom Nichols (who is really good at Twitter. I recall fondly a short exchange between me, Mary G and Nichols and he owns it when he has to): I dumped all over Schumer three months ago. I would like some A1 sauce with my crow

  15. 15.

    Anotherlurker

    August 7, 2022 at 11:26 pm

    These moronic, bible thumping, trucking’ grifters all deserve each other. I can’t imagine a more unappetizing group of people gathered together in one place.

    I know that I’m breaking some rule here, but I think it would be glorious if they started using their beloved 2nd Amendment, only on each other.

    Chastise me.

  16. 16.

    Poe Larity

    August 7, 2022 at 11:37 pm

    retreated to Bunker Hill,

    They clearly missed a history lesson.

  17. 17.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    August 7, 2022 at 11:43 pm

    What a bunch of freaks.

    In unhappy news, the actor who played TC in the original Magnum PI, Roger E. Mosley, has died at the age of 83. I was surprised to learn he was 50 when the show ended 1988; he didn’t look it

  18. 18.

    Chris T.

    August 7, 2022 at 11:44 pm

    Their cause is pure! Pure what, they won’t say.

  19. 19.

    Jackie

    August 7, 2022 at 11:47 pm

    As 1776 is their motto, maybe swapping out their semis for covered wagons would be more appropriate?

  20. 20.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    August 8, 2022 at 12:03 am

    @Jackie:

    Originalism!

  21. 21.

    NotMax

    August 8, 2022 at 12:09 am

    “The Court finds the word truck nowhere in the Constitution, thus has no option but to impose a ban.”

    //

  22. 22.

    2liberal

    August 8, 2022 at 12:12 am

    Some of us who check twitter will see the name “Tom Nichols” aka @radiofreetom. For those who’d like some background this is a story in a local newspaper for Newport RI.

     

    https://www.newportthisweek.com/articles/this-weeks-conversation-with-tom-nichols/

  23. 23.

    Ken

    August 8, 2022 at 12:18 am

    @2liberal: Is this a reprint? It was published this week (tomorrow, according to the date) but the interview was on December 17, 2020! (His comment “when Biden takes office” caught my attention.)

  24. 24.

    2liberal

    August 8, 2022 at 12:20 am

    @Ken:  its from the date on the article, not the current issue.  I did a google search for “tom nichols newport ri” and that is how i found it.

  25. 25.

    Danielx

    August 8, 2022 at 12:25 am

    Do these people have no homes, no jobs, nothing but resentment of…something?

  26. 26.

    Amir Khalid

    August 8, 2022 at 12:32 am

    @Danielx:
    That seems a fair assessment to me.

  27. 27.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    August 8, 2022 at 12:46 am

    @Danielx: Oh, now I wanna see liberals drive by with Biden and Planned Parenthood and BLM stickers on their car yelling GET A JOB out the window at them.

  28. 28.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    August 8, 2022 at 12:51 am

    @Danielx:

    I’d pay someone money to ask one of them that. I always think it’s amusing how the mental image conservatives/reactionaries have of themselves almost never matches reality

  29. 29.

    JaySinWA

    August 8, 2022 at 12:58 am

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    They could just blast “Get a job” at them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbGthv-dJp4

  30. 30.

    Old Man Shadow

    August 8, 2022 at 1:05 am

    “We’re white and old and scared of everything!”

  31. 31.

    Geoduck

    August 8, 2022 at 1:35 am

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): And he died from a car accident, not illness. Might have lived on a while yet…

  32. 32.

    Kent

    August 8, 2022 at 1:38 am

    @Old Man Shadow:“We’re white and old and scared of everything!”

    That is really the truth.  One thing I have noticed recently is that gun nuts are the most paranoid and fearful people that exist.  Especially the MAGA types.  They are literally afraid of their own shadows.

    Over the past year I have had two elderly uncles die.  The first was your typical right-wing gun nut.  The whole time he was fading away and losing his faculties in the little retirement village home that he and my aunt occupied he was constantly obsessed with his guns.  Terrified that someone might break in and take them, or just terrified that someone might break in and he wouldn’t have them at his bedside.  My cousin had to go through when he was asleep and find all his guns and they found about a dozen stashed all over the place in their little condo.  Then his last days were full of temper tantrums of him wanting his guns back.  No last moments with family or anything.

    My other uncle was an elderly retired public school principal who was a good principled Democrat.  He and my dad would go hunting when they were young but he had long earlier given up hunting for photography and birdwatching and probably sold all his guns in the 1970s.    Despite dying of painful cancer and being on IV painkillers in their home, he was calm, peaceful, and had meaningful last days with all his immediate and some extended family around.

    The difference?  One was gun obsessed and paranoid.  The other was life obsessed and peaceful.

    I really think it is the guns.  They seem to warp minds and instill paranoia.  I don’t know if anyone have ever written about that topic but it is my growing observation.

  33. 33.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 8, 2022 at 2:02 am

    To quote Wonkette about the NRA:

    WEAK.

    SAD.

    POOP.

     

    To Hell with these shitstains (and the NRA shitstains too).

  34. 34.

    James E Powell

    August 8, 2022 at 2:19 am

    I know some people who aren’t ignorant, hateful bigots trying to make things worse for other people. I’m sure you all do, too. Apparently the WaPo has no interest in writing about them.

  35. 35.

    bjacques

    August 8, 2022 at 2:24 am

    There have also been ongoing hostilities with members of another offshoot of the People’s Convoy who have accused the 1776 Restoration Movement of having members who are convicted sex offenders. Riddell said there was a former member of the group who had been convicted of child molestation in Indiana but that that person has left.

    OK groomer

  36. 36.

    Brachiator

    August 8, 2022 at 2:26 am

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    The character TC was always a likeable guy. Mosley’s obituary at the Hollywood Reporter includes this tidbit.

    The Los Angeles native was busy making movies at the time and didn’t want a job on a television show, but his agent talked him into at least doing the Magnum pilot.
    As Mosley remembered it, his agent told him: ” ‘It’s starring this guy Tom Selleck. Tom Selleck has made about five pilot shows … and none of them has sold. So here’s what you do, Roger: Sign up for the show, go over to Hawaii, they’ll treat you good for the 20 days it will take to shoot the [pilot], you’ll get a lot of money, and then you come home. A show with Tom Selleck always fails, and you’ll be fine.’

    Mosley appears on all 8 seasons of the series.

  37. 37.

    Shalimar

    August 8, 2022 at 3:48 am

    @Kent: The only gun nut I know is a meth-addicted Army vet with PTSD, so way off the scale for paranoia.

  38. 38.

    Anonymous At Work

    August 8, 2022 at 8:21 am

    Canada’s convoy was successful because a lot of former truckers became *former* truckers as a result of the seizure of their big-rigs during the mass arrests and the liquidation of seized assets to pay for damages.  Their American grifter-cousins would never risk actual life, limb or property.

  39. 39.

    Alce_e_ardillo

    August 8, 2022 at 9:26 am

    “reread the Constitution ”

    I had no idea they could even read– let alone reread…..

  40. 40.

    opiejeanne

    August 8, 2022 at 9:35 am

    @Alce_e_ardillo: Looking for loopholes?

  41. 41.

    louc

    August 8, 2022 at 1:05 pm

    Oh, ugh. I walk by this group every Sunday on the Mall. They really could try out for bit parts in a remake of Deliverance. I’ve never seen a more unattractive group of white male specimens in my life.

  42. 42.

    KenK

    August 8, 2022 at 6:58 pm

    “They say their cause is pure” is a pretty obvious tell.

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