Media

‘They Want Their Freedom Back, Whatever That Means’: CNN Correspondent Scoffs At Trucker Protest

[Screenshot CNN]

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
Font Size:

CNN’s senior national correspondent Miguel Marquez scoffed Monday at Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates, telling CNN New Day host John Berman truckers wanted “their freedom back, whatever that means.”

Authorities cleared the Ambassador Bridge Sunday, allowing the free transport of goods and persons between the U.S. and Canada following days of protests by truckers protesting vaccine mandates and other restrictions.

“After a week of drama of protesters blocking the roads on the Canadian side, it ended with a whimper. About 30 protesters were arrested in total. A dozen cars were towed. Most of them pulled off and went off. Police took every effort to be patient and mindful of the protesters’ right to protest. At some point they started moving them out,” Marquez reported. “The difficulty now is going to be a cat and mouse game trying to keep them off the long stretch here to the highway so they don’t have them return and try to shut down traffic.”

“That is going to be the case across Canada right now. There are three other border crossings. Not as important as the Ambassador Bridge. They are blocked off as well. In Ottawa, the capital here, three weeks now there have been truckers and other protesters who have taken over their Parliament Hill, the area immediately around parliament and the neighborhoods. The mayor there said he had a deal to move some of the protesters out of the neighborhoods. Other protesters say ‘no, we’re not going. No way.'” (RELATED: ‘So Much Love’: Ottawa Locals Discuss Freedom Convoy, Say People ‘Spewing Out Hate’ Haven’t Talked With Truckers)

“This has devolved from vaccine mandate concerns, to general mandate concerns, to just anger at the government here and feeding on a lot of that sort of anger that we see in the U.S. And around the world, from the far right. And concerns about sort of too many government restrictions. And they want their freedom back, whatever that means,” Marquez continued.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned truckers protesting Friday they will get criminal records if they do not “go home.”

“If you joined the protests because you’re tired of COVID, you now need to understand that you’re breaking laws,” Trudeau said. “The consequences are becoming more and more severe. You don’t want to end up losing your license, end up with a criminal record which will impact your job, your livelihood, even your ability to travel internationally including to the U.S.”

The convoy blocked key border crossings in parts of Ottawa.