Who gets to protest? GOP鈥檚 support of Canadian truckers criticized.
Former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly called Black Lives Matter protesters 鈥渢hugs鈥� and 鈥渁narchists,鈥� said there鈥檚 鈥渁 lot of respect鈥� for the overwhelmingly white truckers who blocked streets in the Canadian capital and shut down border crossings with the U.S. to oppose COVID-19 restrictions.
To Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the truckers who parked bumper to bumper are 鈥渉eroes鈥� fighting for a righteous cause. Fox News Channel鈥檚 Sean Hannity sent 鈥渟olidarity, love, and support鈥� to the drivers, who also defied police orders to clear Ottawa鈥檚 streets and ignored a court order forbidding them from blaring their horns. GOP Sen. Rand Paul encouraged them to head south and 鈥渃log鈥� streets in the U.S.
The embrace of the truckers by some of the nation鈥檚 most prominent conservative voices has drawn new accusations of hypocrisy and allegations that GOP leaders apply a racist double standard to large protests, including the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol involving a mostly white crowd of Trump supporters.
Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee called the Jan. 6 attack 鈥渓egitimate political discourse.鈥� But only months before the insurrection, Mr. Trump, Mr. Cruz, and other conservatives excoriated protests against police brutality and racial injustice that were largely peaceful, with some instances of looting and unrest.
鈥淭his shows again that there is just an unequal right to express dissent in the United States,鈥� said Karen Pita Loor, a professor at Boston University鈥檚 School of Law. She called conservatives鈥� support 鈥渢wo-faced,鈥� saying that conservatives appear to support a white, conservative rights movement, but 鈥渨hen you have Black Lives Matter protesters on the street that are 鈥榯hugs,鈥� they scare you.鈥�
Conservatives counter that there鈥檚 a double standard on the other side 鈥� that liberals support the idea of protesting, until they disagree with the cause.
The Canadian protests known as the Freedom Convoy were declared a national emergency and an illegal occupation of the capital. For weeks, the drivers blocked streets to oppose vaccine mandates for truckers in Canada and other pandemic restrictions. They also blocked U.S. border crossings, inflicting economic damage on both countries.
Police began arresting protesters Friday in a bid to break the three-week, traffic-snarling siege of Canada's capital by hundreds of truckers angry over the country's COVID-19 restrictions. Officers, some carrying automatic weapons and wearing tactical unit uniforms, were seen going door to door along a line of trucks, campers, and other vehicles parked on Ottawa's snow-covered streets.
Some protesters surrendered and were taken into custody, police said. Some were seen being led away in handcuffs. One person being led away was carrying a sign that read 鈥淢andate Freedom.鈥�
Police made their first move to end the occupation late Thursday with the arrest of two key protest leaders. They also sealed off much of the downtown area to outsiders to prevent them from coming to the aid of the self-styled Freedom Convoy protesters.
Conservatives say there is a clear distinction between the Canadian protests and instances of violence during protests over the killing of George Floyd by a white officer in Minneapolis, including buildings set on fire in that city and Portland, Oregon.
鈥淎ll Americans have the right to peacefully protest. But there鈥檚 a stark contrast between civil disobedience 鈥� which has been a time-honored tradition in our country 鈥� and burning down buildings, looting businesses, and violently attacking actual peaceful protesters and innocent bystanders,鈥� Mr. Paul said. The Republican from Kentucky was surrounded and confronted in 2020 by people protesting the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman fatally shot by police.
Mr. Cruz鈥檚 spokesperson echoed those comments, saying that the senator 鈥渉as been very clear鈥� about the right to nonviolent protest. 鈥淲hat people don鈥檛 have the right to do is assault another person, loot and firebomb buildings 鈥� those actions are not exercising a constitutional right no matter the circumstance.鈥�
Mr. Hannity said this week that the difference between the Black Lives Matter protests and the truckers is that the demonstrations in Canada have been peaceful.
At the Alberta border town of Coutts, across from Montana, where a blockade disrupted trade for more than two weeks, police arrested 13 people and seized guns and ammunition earlier this week. Four men also face a charge of conspiracy alleging that they plotted to kill Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers.
The support from conservatives in the U.S. goes beyond the words of politicians. Right-wing activists who oppose pandemic mandates and Canada鈥檚 liberal prime minster, Justin Trudeau, have also donated money to the demonstrations, hoping that the protests will help motivate American voters ahead of this year鈥檚 midterm elections.
Mario Morrow, a Black political consultant who has served both GOP and Democratic governors in Michigan, called Republicans鈥� support for the Canadian protests 鈥渉ypocrisy at its highest level.鈥�
The protests included a blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, Canada, and carries 25% of all trade between the two countries. The demonstrations also forced the shutdown of a Canadian Ford plant last week. Shortages due to the blockade forced General Motors to cancel a shift last week at its midsize-SUV factory near Lansing, Michigan.
Police broke the blockade at the bridge 鈥� the border鈥檚 busiest and most important crossing 鈥� last weekend, arresting dozens of demonstrators.
鈥淭here is no way that the supporters, especially Republicans, can justify the funding support, the moral support, and the political statements they are making by supporting these tactics,鈥� Mr. Morrow said. He also said the protesters would not get the same support if they were 鈥渁nything other than conservative white individuals.鈥�
鈥淭hey would have been locked up 鈥� day one,鈥� he said.
Mr. Cruz last week praised the truckers for standing up against liberals who imposed mandates they 鈥渉ave no right to impose.鈥� He said the protesters spoke not just for Canadians, but also for Americans.
鈥淚 think it is powerful to watch,鈥� he said.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Rob Gilles, Wilson Ring, and Robert Bumsted in Ottawa, Canada, and Jill Colvin and Padmananda Rama in Washington contributed to this report.
