“People’s Convoy” protesters were met with a less than warm welcome when they reached a Californian city, as angry residents were seen in a viral video hurling eggs at the truck drivers and their vehicles.
A group of angry Oakland residents, comprised largely of young people, pelted eggs at the convoy of truckers on 22 April, said a local media report.
Residents could be heard saying “Get out of our town” and throwing eggs at the convoy as it passed a Safeway supermarket in the video posted on YouTube.
The “People’s Convoy” has been inspired by several similar protests that earlier took place in Canada against Covid vaccine mandates and abortion bills.
“This is not freedom — you are a disturber,” said a woman, confronting a man live-streaming the protest on Twitch.
Several truckers decorated their trucks with stickers that read “We the People” and shouted “Freedom.”
“We are US citizens, we believe in the Constitution and your legislations are a direct assault on the freedoms of this country!” one protester shouted.
One livestreamer working for the “People’s Convoy” conceded to the Bay Area residents that “it’s convenient because there’s a Safeway right there that sells eggs”.
Last week, East Bay assemblywoman Buffy Wicks had to call police to her home when about 20 drivers started honking near her home in the Rockridge neighbourhood and crowded the road.
They demanded Ms Wicks come out of her home and face them.
Mercury News reported that the “People’s Convoy” protesters had been around Ms Wicks’ house for about an hour.
No one was arrested for the incident, according to the California Highway Patrol and Oakland police representatives.
A spokesperson for Ms Wicks on Saturday said the assemblywoman would be “off the grid as far as communication goes” for the rest of the weekend.
“Bullhorns and loud trucks lend no legitimacy to baseless conspiracy theories from out of state protesters, and Asm. Wicks will not indulge any attempts to influence her legislative work through harassment and intimidation tactics — especially when it’s directed at her home and her family,” Erin Ivie, a spokeswoman for Ms Wicks’ office, said.
A similar convoy of truckers had arrived in Sacramento last week to protest vaccination mandates.
The “People’s Convoy” had also attempted to plant US flags on the lawn of one of Nancy Pelosi’s homes in the Bay Area — but they couldn’t decide which one was hers.
