‘TEETH AND A BACKBONE’

People’s Convoy Sues D.C Over Blocked Exit Ramps, and Pledges to Come Back

“When we go back to D.C., we are not the same convoy,” the group said, hinting at the possibility of taking more extreme measures.

With the right-wing so-called “People’s Convoy” slated to begin its journey back to the Washington, D.C., area weeks after driving away after failing to accomplish much past burning fuel and angering residents, 16 convoy participants have filed a new lawsuit in District Court on Monday. The lawsuit, reviewed by The Daily Beast, alleges that D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department violated the truckers’ First Amendment rights by blocking exit ramps around the city as the convoy attempted to make entry. “The District’s blockade policy... is unconstitutionally vague on its face because it allows the District unfettered discretion to refuse to grant Plaintiffs access to the District, thereby depriving Plaintiffs of their constitutional rights to travel and free speech,” the 39-page complaint states. (Attorney Michael Alan Yoder, representing all 16 convoy-goers, didn’t immediately return The Daily Beast’s request for comment.) Meantime in Olympia, Washington, this weekend, a new convoy leader named David Riddell (who also goes by “Santa”) told fellow participants that the convoy, which in recent weeks has become increasingly violent, intends to travel back to the District, this time with “teeth and a backbone.” He added: “When we go back to D.C., we are not the same convoy.”

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Zachary PetrizzoFormer Politics Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.