Members of the convoy that snarled D.C.-area traffic on several occasions in March are suing the District, claiming their rights were violated.
The convoy, based in Hagerstown, Maryland, would make runs around the Beltway and other highways approaching D.C. on an almost-daily basis. On several days in mid-March, ramps heading into D.C. from interstates 295, 395 and 695 were blocked off by D.C. police, which cited safety concerns.
The 15 members of the convoy claim in the lawsuit that the move constituted an infringement of their First Amendment rights.
They further claimed that they were being targeted for their specific beliefs: The group — hailing from West Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nevada and California — claimed D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed in protesters with “multiple, weeks-long records of causing violence and disruption in the District” because they “share the same viewpoints.”
The convoy came to the D.C. area with the stated goal of protesting COVID-19 restrictions, which had almost completely been lifted by that point.
The group is asking the court for an unspecified amount of money in damages, as well as attorneys’ fees, and for the court to order D.C. to let them into the District.
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine’s office said they had no comment on the pending litigation.
