By Brendan O’Brien

CHICAGO (Reuters] – American groups have organized convoys to transport trucks and other vehicles over the weekend. They are following in the footsteps of protests against COVID-19 mandates, which have reverberated across Canada recently and caused disruptions to North American supply lines.

On its website, “Convoy to save America” announced that two convoys of vehicles will converge on the Peace Bridge this weekend, a U.S./Canadian border crossing located in Buffalo (New York). The first convoy will depart New York City Friday, and the second one from Mount Juliet (Tennessee) Saturday.

Pennie Fay is one of the founding members of the group. She told Reuters the convoys will be made up of minivans and sport utility vehicles that are loaded with water, food, and gas cards. The blankets will also be provided for Canadian truck drivers arriving in the U.S.

Fay said, while leaving Nashville from “this weekend is about Canada, about supporting them” and “while simultaneously bringing attention the fact that the mandates should be removed.” Take them out of every state. “We want a country free from all restrictions.”

The trucker protest in Canada is now entering its third week. Beginning as a protest over a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, its scope has expanded to include a more generalized opposition to government rules set up to control the spread of the virus over the past two years.

Truck drivers now block the Ambassador Bridge which is the main international land border crossing between North America’s two largest cities, Ottawa (Canada) and Detroit (Michigan). This bridge, which was built in 1993, has been occupied by Ottawa. Canadian truckers also block smaller border crossings between Canada’s Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces.

Doug Ford, Ontario’s Premier declared a State of Emergency on Friday.

Fundraising websites have created calls for assistance to U.S.-Canadian truckers. One campaign, on Givesendgo.com (Christian fundraising website), has raised over $8 million for Canadian truckers and another raised $41,000 for American truckers.

After GoFundMe removed a fundraising page supporting protesting truck drivers, some Republicans pledged to look into it.

According to media reports, earlier this week the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alerted law enforcement agencies of possible protesting truckers congregating at this weekend’s Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

In a statement, the agency stated that they are monitoring reports about a possible convoy travelling to several U.S. towns. However, the statement was not related to the Super Bowl.

There are many U.S.-based groups that have started to organize on Facebook, TikTok, Telegram and TikTok (NASDAQ:), in an attempt to capitalize on the frustrations among Americans about COVID-19 mandates. These discussions can also include logistics to support large national convoys.

The People’s Convoy, which has 64,000 Facebook followers, plans a rally at Coachella Valley, Indio, California on March 4. To protest mandates, truck drivers from California will be joining a convoy to Washington, D.C.

Brian Brase (one of the organizers) stated in TikTok that “It’s happening regardless you like it, it’s going ahead,” “It is not a right issue. It is not a right issue. This is not an anti-vax issue. It’s all about the constitution, and our rights as Americans. Brase was unavailable for comment.