‘People’s Convoy’ protesters rally in Philly to demand more media coverage

About 20 people from Philadelphia and its suburbs gathered Friday afternoon in front of the Fox 29 offices on Market Street in Old City to demand more media coverage of a small but ongoing trucker protest taking place outside Washington.

Different convoys began making the cross-country drive in late February to demand an end to the national emergency first declared by former President Donald Trump in 2020 because of COVID-19 and most recently renewed by President Joe Biden.

The convoy protesters, who have a wide range of demands, are also calling for an end to vaccine mandates for health-care workers and the military.

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“This isn’t really against Fox at all,” said Lynn Landes, an organizer with Philly Freedom Coalition. “It’s more just to draw attention that this story needs to be covered more fully, and don’t give up on this story.”

Organizers and supporters spent weeks planning routes to Washington and collecting donations for the truckers through social media, inspired by the Canadian protests that gridlocked Ottawa as truckers denounced a vaccine mandate for drivers crossing the border into the U.S. and back.

The “People’s Convoy,” however, didn’t draw the thousands some had hoped. Still, hundreds of vehicles remained in Hagerstown, Md., this week with leaders scoring a meeting with Republican U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Ted Cruz of Texas.

”I got two respectful members of the Senate here,” said People’s Convoy leader Brian Brase to the Washington Post. “And I got all the media to come in this room and start covering it. That’s a win for me. That’s a win for the People’s Convoy.”

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Other national outlets, including the New York Times, have reported on the convoy. But Delaware County resident Diane Coughlan, who helped organize Friday’s rally in Philadelphia, said that’s not enough.

“The local news networks don’t even seem to care,” said Coughlan. “The only thing that you hear about right now is Ukraine. This is happening in our country. And they actually spent more time reporting about Canada’s convoy than the U.S. convoy.”

Equipped with signs that read “Educate, don’t mandate” and “Don’t tread on Philly,” the group wasn’t deterred by low turnout and limited media coverage, and promised to continue supporting the convoy for as long as it lasts.

Throughout Friday’s event, the group got the occasional supportive honk from a passing vehicle.