Looks like we got us a convoy.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I didn't see anything at WTOP. This is just starting up.

It's Wednesday July 6, the 1776 Restoration Movement arrived in Washington, DC over night and are currently hanging out on near the National Mall. They seem to be claiming they will be staying there for a while. We'll see what happens, I guess. 1 of n

The group has parked along the National Mall. They've lined both sides of the street, with more still currently parking nearby. There's a rough count of 30 vehicles along the National Mall alone.

Link to tweet

It looks like 1776RM are on both sides of Madison Drive NW in front of the National Gallery of Art- East Building. They have a few large vehicles- the fake fire truck and 3 bobtails (a semi without a trailer attached to it)- and a few dozen passenger vehicles. #convoywatch 6 of n

Link to tweet

8:55am- A few members of the 1776RM group are standing on top of the fake fire truck. There are speakers set up on the fire truck roof and one person is speaking into a microphone to pedestrians passing by the "protest" site. #convoywatch 11 of n

Link to tweet

Cop from MPD spoke to the group. He says there is a warrant for Riddell's arrest in the state of Maryland for blocking the roadway on July 4 or 5, and that once the police became away of that they were required to arrest him and he will be extradited to Maryland. 13 of n

That last tweet is in reference to this:

Convoy of truckers protest, briefly block traffic along DC area highways, police say
by 7News Staff Monday, July 4th 2022

ROCKVILLE, Md. (7News) — A convoy of trucks protested along D.C. area highways Monday morning, briefly blocking off traffic on I-270 and I-95, say they are actually a group "comprised of nurses, teachers, carpenters, plumbers, engineers, legal professionals, veterans, homemakers, and more."

READ THE LATEST | 'We are regular hard-working Americans': Convoy protesting in DC releases statement

The group, 1776 Restoration Movement, say they are "not just truck drivers. We are Constitutional-Republic activists who did a convoy today as part of our peaceful protest."

They sent 7News an email Tuesday, a day after Maryland State Police said they responded to two traffic incidents around 8:15 a.m. on the Fourth of July involving truck convoys. State police said one group of truckers blocked I-270 just before I-370 and another group blocked southbound I-95 just south of route 198. No arrests were made.



Truckers block traffic along I-270 in Maryland on July 4th (7News)

D.C. police also monitored a group of truckers along I-395.

READ MORE | Trucker convoy protesting COVID mandates in DC to continue all week

{snip}

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. They are heading back to their Bunker Hill, WV camp.

Per the #1776RM telegram channel, the fake fire truck and the other "big trucks" (I assume this means the semis) are heading back to the Bunker Hill, WV camp. Be cautious if you're on the roads right now, I don't have eyes on the group heading out of town. #convoywatch 25 of n

Link to tweet

[mopinko]

2. isnt it illegal to feed meters?

in chi, if you get caught, it's a ticket. you're supposed to move it when the flag pops.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. "It's already been a rough day for the 1776 Restoration Movement, as their leader was arrested ..."

It's already been a rough day for the 1776 Restoration Movement, as their leader was arrested by DC police and his truck impounded, but now the leaderless group has more problems: as city tow trucks circle their makeshift DC camp and they continue to argue with each other.

Link to tweet

Recently, the District Court of Maryland issued the following citations to Riddell.

D.C. Metropolitan Police also impounded Riddell’s black big rig.

Link to tweet

Zachary Petrizzo Retweeted

The group successfully blocked portions of the highways for 30 minutes Monday morning, but their July 4 activities may not be over yet

thedailybeast.com
Right-Wing Protestors Carry Out Short-Lived July 4 ‘Attack’ On D.C. Area Highways
“We have literally attacked 270 into Washington, D.C.,” their leader proudly said Monday morning.

Link to tweet

we have sinkholes that shut down 270 better than that.

Link to tweet

We have normal traffic that shut it down better than that.

I remember the days of Germantown to Seven Corners commuting...

Never ever again...

Link to tweet

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Leader of trucker convoy arrested on DC's National Mall

Last edited Thu Jul 7, 2022, 10:41 AM - Edit history (1)

Home » Washington, DC News » Leader of trucker convoy…

Leader of trucker convoy arrested on DC’s National Mall

Alejandro Alvarez | [e-mail]

July 6, 2022, 5:30 PM

The leader of the 1776 Restoration Movement trucker convoy was arrested Wednesday in D.C. on charges of impeding traffic and disobeying a police order on the Fourth of July. ... Fifty-seven-year-old David Riddell of Ohio — known within the convoy as “Santa” — was taken into custody by D.C. police on a Maryland arrest warrant Wednesday morning, two days after groups of truckers drove slowly and snarled traffic on Interstate 270 and the Capital Beltway in Montgomery County.



David Riddell, de facto leader of the 1776 Restoration Movement, is arrested in Washington, D.C. on July 6, 2022. (Courtesy Kyle Anderson)

A spokesperson for the Maryland State Police confirmed Riddell was charged with disturbing peace/hindering passage, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a lawful order. He will be transferred to Maryland following his arrest on the National Mall.

On Monday, state troopers were called to southbound I-270 in Gaithersburg “for the report of several truckers stopping traffic and failing to obey a lawful order to open up the travel portions of the highway,” MSP said in a statement. The agency said it sought an arrest warrant for Riddell following the convoy’s dispersal that day.

In the hours before sunrise Wednesday, several dozen truckers, including Riddell, made the drive into D.C. and parked along both sides of Madison Drive, near the National Museum of American History.

Link to tweet

Livestreams from participants later showed D.C. officers approaching Riddell in front of a yellow fire truck often driven as part of the convoy. ... Kyle Anderson, a photojournalist who captured Riddell’s arrest, told WTOP that officers had asked to speak with him privately before moving to arrest him.

{snip}

Alejandro Alvarez
Alejandro Alvarez joined WTOP as a digital reporter and editor in June 2018. He is a writer and photojournalist focusing on politics, political activism and national affairs, with recent multimedia contributions to Reuters, MSNBC and PBS.

[e-mail]
@aletweetsnews