WASHINGTON (Reuters] Hundreds upon hundreds of trucks and recreational vehicles circling Washington’s outskirts on Sunday threatened to cause congestion around Washington as part of a protest over COVID-19 restrictions.

So-called “People’s Convoy”, which was founded in California but has attracted participants from across the nation, calls for an end of all restrictions related to pandemics. The idea was born out of demonstrations that paralyzed Ottawa in Canada last month.

Recent weeks have seen the message of the convoy being diluted by significant U.S. cities that have repealed mask mandates as well as other COVID-19-related measures. In Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden (a Democrat) indicated that the nation was now in a more controlled stage of the pandemic, without school closings and business lockdowns.

However, that didn’t stop hundreds of vehicles gathering at Hagerstown Speedway on Friday and Sat. This racetrack is in Maryland, about 80 mi (129 km), northwest of Washington.

Many drove in convoy on Sunday to make slow loops of the Beltway that runs around the city. A witness to Reuters said that they honked their horns and waved American flags at the onlookers as they headed off.

Uncertain if the convoy will drive into Washington. According to organizers, the intention was for the convoy to travel along the Beltway and then return to Hagerstown.

On Friday evening, a participant referred to himself as the “lead trucker” and told cheering fans that he was going to drive his truck right into Washington.

He said, “D.C., D.C. government, whoever can claim that they’ve got all this opposition waiting for us in D.C.” The flag that I have on my truck’s back will be carried down Constitution Avenue to the Washington Monument and White House.

According to an American official, U.S. federal law enforcement authorities have coordinated with local and state authorities over the past weeks to prepare for possible arrival of the convoy.

Reuters reviewed a February 26th bulletin from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to law enforcement that stated trucker convoys can hinder emergency response teams depending on how large the protest was.