Security preparations for a possible Freedom Convoy protest in Washington during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech on March 1 will reportedly include reinstallation of an unscalable barrier around the US Capitol complex.
Fox News reported on the fencing initiative on Sunday, citing concerns that truckers will use the occasion of Biden’s address to protest against Covid-19 mandates. The controversial barrier was originally erected after the January 2021 Capitol riot and was brought back last September for a much-hyped conservative rally that wound up having fewer protesters than police.
News of the fencing plan comes two days after the US Capitol Police Department announced that law enforcement agencies were preparing for the possible arrival of Freedom Convoy demonstrators around the time of Biden’s speech to Congress. The department is working with Washington police, the US Secret Service, and the National Guard, among other entities, to beef up security for the occasion.
Freedom Convoy protesters jammed Canada’s capital, Ottawa for three weeks and blockaded some border crossings into the US to decry Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Covid-19 restrictions. Trudeau suspended civil liberties on Monday, and riot police used horses, batons, pepper spray, and other crowd-control measures to end the “illegal occupation” of Ottawa on Saturday.
Republicans criticized the plan to again fence off the Capitol, saying Democrats are using such measures to crush dissenting voices. “Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are rebuilding the fence around the Capitol to hide from the people,” Georgia gubernatorial candidate Kandiss Taylor said. “Those are the actions of illegitimate regimes.”