‘Freedom Convoys’ gain support in US, as truckers protest in Canada hits standoff

It began as a ragtag team of Canadian truckers shouting about their disdain for vaccine mandates and the politicians upholding them. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder in below-freezing temperatures, waving Canada’s flag and using their semis to block bridges and thoroughfares.

Now, nearly two weeks after Canadian truckers began the blockades that shuttered portions of Ottawa, the country’s capital, the patchwork movement orchestrated largely on social media and in online chat groups is expanding globally.

As the Omicron surge recedes across the U.S. and more states weigh lifting mask mandates, similar caravans and blockades — dubbed “Freedom Convoys” — have started to pop up across the globe, threatening to grind city cores to a halt in parts of the U.S., France, New Zealand and Australia.

In the U.S., the loosely organized effort