WASHINGTON — A permit application for an anti-mandate rally on the National Mall next month estimates an attendance in the low thousands – a far cry from the tens of thousands of people the organizer told WUSA had signed up to attend.
The application, filed by Maryland small business owner and independent gubernatorial candidate Kyle Sefcik on Feb. 18, calls for an estimated attendance of “hopefully 1,000 – 3,000” people and the use of four tables and chairs. In an interview with WUSA earlier this week, Sefcik claimed 38,000 people had signed up for his “Freedom Convoy USA 2022.” A server on the chat service Discord set up by Sefcik for the event had approximately 300 members as of Wednesday afternoon.
The application requests use of the National Sylvan Theater near the Washington Monument for “peaceful demonstration/assembly, Christian music/speakers against mandates” and support of convoys in Canada. The date, March 1, was chosen to coincide with President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address. A number of proposed convoys emulating the Canadian protests in Ottawa have also targeted March 1 to arrive in D.C., although, to date, it remains unclear whether those will come to fruition.
Bob Bolus, a trucking company owner who planned to start his own convoy on Wednesday morning, told WUSA he intended to “choke [D.C.] like a boa constrictor.” He left Scranton, Pennsylvania, alone Wednesday after sustaining two flat tires and, according to news reports, had only added around seven other pickups and small vehicles to his fleet by Wednesday afternoon.
In a video on his Facebook page, Sefcik said he was calling for the convoy to urge Biden to “end the mandates” and the national COVID-19 health emergency. The Supreme Court shot down a proposed OSHA rule in January which would have required businesses with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 testing, and restrictions around the country, including in Maryland, where Sefcik lives, and in D.C., are being lifted.
The convoy idea has drawn support from major figures on the right, including conservative commentator Dan Bongino – who boosted Sefcik’s video on his show – and Fox News host Tucker Carlson. While the concept initially began as a “trucker protest,” a seeming lack of interest from U.S. truckers – and a statement of opposition from the largest trucking trade organization in the country – has seen it morph into a more general anti-mandate protest.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested and was approved for additional National Guard support on March 1, and law enforcement in D.C., Maryland and Virginia say they are monitoring plans as they develop.