US ‘freedom convoy’ could disrupt Sunday’s Super Bowl, officials warn

A planned American "freedom convoy" of truckers opposed to vaccine mandates, inspired by protests in Canada, could involve a blockade of the Super Bowl in Los Angeles this weekend that "could severely disrupt transportation, federal government, and law enforcement", according to reports.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to US law enforcement agencies warning of a convoy "potentially impacting Super Bowl LVI" on 13 February, and the 1 March State of the Union address in Washington, where the mooted convoy is likely to arrive, CBS reported.

The DHS bulletin said such a protest "could severely disrupt transportation, federal government, and law enforcement operations through gridlock and potential counter-protests".

In Canada, trucker protests have been linked to the far right and caused days of disruption in the capital, Ottawa, and at the US-Canada border, with major disruptions to the economy.

The idea of a US convoy has spread widely online, as thousands of people have joined pledges to bring the demonstration to Washington. Some people on Facebook and Telegram, the secure messaging platform, have now started to suggest the convoy could "shut down the Super Bowl".

One aspiring politician, Ryan D Kelley, a fringe candidate in the GOP primary for the upcoming Michigan gubernatorial race, appears to have backed the idea: "Sure would be a shame if a convoy of trucks surrounded the Super Bowl so that nobody could attend," he wrote on Wednesday.

A poster being circulated for the proposed convoy advertises the event as a "medical freedom protest" - objecting in particular to requiring children wear face masks.