| NEWS | Truck Stop Arizona’s border vigilante groups call on truckers to join them. BY KATYA SCHWENK E mboldened by the “Freedom Convoy” protests that gripped Ottawa last month, some trucker caravans in Arizona now have plans to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border. Hodgepodge convoys of long-haul truckers, supporters, and activist groups have been cropping up across the U.S. over the last several weeks. They draw inspira- tion from a protest movement that began in January in Canada’s capital, along the northern U.S. border. The “Freedom Convoys” occupied Ottawa for a period of weeks, protesting cross-border vaccine mandates for truckers and the country’s COVID-19 restrictions. Many long-haul truckers are indepen- dent business owners and can leverage control over their tractor-trailers to throw a monkey wrench in the supply chain. For days at a time, protesters lined up 18-wheelers and blockaded key crossing points between the U.S. and Canada. The protests have now morphed into a more scattered, right-leaning movement. And it is turning its attention from Canadian border towns to the desert. One trucker convoy is planning to start a blockade at the southern border between the United States and Mexico, Phoenix New Times found. It dubs itself “America Against Trafficking” on social media. Flyers for the rally on the right-wing messaging mobile app Telegram have already been viewed by thousands. Furthermore, border vigilante groups in Arizona, some considered hate groups by organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, have been asking for trucker caravans to join their strongholds in the Sonoran desert. Arizona’s border vigilantes frequently detain immigrants and question them, sometimes under the guise of fighting human trafficking. The groups often claim to be working in tandem with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. And though the federal agency claims to oppose vigilantism, it often turns a blind eye to these activities. “The sort of narratives that are driving 14 [trucker convoys] to organize are fueled by a lot of conspiracies,” said Freddy Cruz, a research analyst for the Southern Poverty Law Center who tracks border extremism. “It’s not surprising that some of the vigilantes near the border are trying to capitalize on that.” Tammy Willard, who co-owns a small Kansas trucking company with her husband, said she plans to join the exodus. Willard is planning to send a semi-truck down to the U.S.-Mexico border to aid Veterans On Patrol, one of Arizona’s most active border vigilante groups. The group bases its operations out of Pima County, in and around the small border town of Sasabe. For the Willards, that’s a 1,000- mile journey. “We’re just one of the trucks that’s going to go,” Willard told New Times over the phone. Her husband is a longtime trucker, she said. She felt called to help “the children [who] are being trafficked [across] the border,” she said. “And, you know, we need more attention to the border.” Some militia group members often claim that they are both trying to stop an “invasion” at the border, which they argue the U.S. Border Patrol has ignored for decades, and at the same time are battling human trafficking rings. Veterans On Patrol frequently posts footage of immigrants and unaccompanied children along the border on social media. The videos, which researcher Cruz deems “propaganda,” have garnered a national audience. More than 10,000 people follow the group on Telegram. Violence against women and children migrating to the U.S. is well-documented. But experts say that groups like Veterans On Patrol are peddling misinformation. Their claims about uncovering orches- trated human trafficking rings and sex trafficking camps, involving the govern- ment and humanitarian groups, are not based in reality, research shows. It is, however, an effective way to convince volunteers to make the trip down south. This activity along the U.S.-Mexico border is happening as several trucker convoys drive through Arizona. These convoys consist of loosely affili- ated individuals, including truckers and avid supporters of the movement. At times, far-right groups have linked arms with the protesters. In Ottawa, for example, confederate and neo-Nazi flags flew in the crowds. Some trucker convoys that have formed in the U.S. have also espoused extremist views, though their ideologies are somewhat disorganized, researchers have found. At one recent convoy stop in Kingman, Arizona, protesters carried Trump gear and sold QAnon conspiracy theory merch from makeshift stands. Vehicles were decorated with messaging in support of acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse and InfoWars, Alex Jones’ far- right website. So far, trucker protests in the U.S. have been thinly attended compared to the throngs in Canada. One recent rally in D.C. attracted just 20 people, according to local reports. In large part, the convoys coming through Arizona are made up of personal Telegram Supporters of a trucker convoy line up to cheer as they drive through Arizona. vehicles, not semi-trucks. Estimates on the number of participating truckers in these U.S. convoys fall in the dozens, far fewer than the number who participated in the Ottawa protests — over 400, according to some estimates. One caravan is known as “the People’s Convoy.” Those truckers drove through Kingman early this month. Another convoy arrived in La Paz County’s Quartzsite last week. Even if sparsely attended, the convoys have attracted support from a dedicated base. Video footage shot along the route often goes viral on Telegram. Supporters are shown gathering together on over- passes as the caravans drive by. Organizers of the People’s Convoy claim to have raised upward of $1 million from sympathetic donors. One demand from individuals repre- senting the caravan that trekked across Arizona this week is for officials to “secure the southern border,” according to its website. There is a long history of vigilantism along the U.S.-Mexico border. In Arizona, active groups span from armed militias, who are claiming to defend U.S. soil when the government won’t step up, to camps of activists who continue to peddle wild child-smuggling conspiracy >>p 17 MARCH 17TH– MARCH 23RD, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
