A convoy of trucks and other vehicles travels the I-495 Capital Beltway near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, to protest mandates and other issues, Sunday, March, 6, 2022, in Fort Washington, Md.
Alex Brandon / AP Photo
Convoy protesting COVID mandates stops in Pennsylvania, rolls on to California
The convoy stopped in Harrisburg for a rally Monday afternoon.
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Jan Murphy/PennLive
Alex Brandon / AP Photo
A convoy of trucks and other vehicles travels the I-495 Capital Beltway near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, to protest mandates and other issues, Sunday, March, 6, 2022, in Fort Washington, Md.
Truckers with the so-called “People’s Convoy” that disrupted traffic in the D.C. metro area for the last three weeks took a detour to Harrisburg Monday, causing traffic issues for morning commuters.
Capitol Police blocked off part of Commonwealth Avenue behind the Capitol as about 10 tractor trailer cabs flying American flags and pickup trucks parked out front. Several convoy members posted on social media that they were taking a detour on their way back to California after camping in Hagerstown to support Sen. Doug Mastriano’s Medical Freedom Rally, scheduled Monday morning on the Capitol steps.
Dan Gleiter / PennLive
Truckers with the group called the “People’s Convoy” join others on the steps of the state Capitol for a Medical Freedom rally, March 28, 2022
The Franklin County Republican and gubernatorial candidate hosted the rally to “fix broken trust and greed in medicine,” he said on his Senate Facebook page. Mastriano has been a vocal opponent of mask mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions.
The rally drew fewer than 100 people. Speakers included lawmakers, physicians, patients and their families who say they suffered from what Mastriano described as “medical malfeasance” relating to COVID-19 treatment and restrictions.
Motorists making their way to the Capitol Complex on Monday morning encountered a partially blocked off Commonwealth Avenue that diverted through-traffic away from that internal roadway into the complex.
Capitol Police cars parked at the Walnut and Forster street ends of Commonwealth Avenue to keep the People’s Convoy from entering the interior road of the complex, said Troy Thompson, a spokesman for the state Department of General Services. The convoy did not have a permit that allowed them to stage a rally.
Trucks encircled the Capitol disrupting morning rush hour traffic, but state employees or anyone with business in the Capitol Complex were allowed access to Commonwealth Avenue.
“It was a little bit disruptive,” Thompson said.
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