A Georgia trucking company owner says he shot off his mouth about arresting members of Congress when truckers rally in Washington this weekend to make sure the event attracts a lot of attention.
Earl Conlon told WND in an interview that his controversial remarks about the coming "Truckers to Shut Down America" obviously have had the desired effect.
"I told US News what I told them to raise eyebrows, yes, and to make sure media doesn't try to sweep this rally under the rug like they tried with the bikers," Conlon told WND.
Although much of it was laced with satire and ridicule, the statements about arresting members of Congress did get widespread attention on the web.
References ranged from the high-profile Fox News, USA Today, The Blaze and Washington Post to obscure blogs.
Also noting the plans were various tea party postings.
The rally is expected to coincide with a rally by vets in Washington, the "Million Vet March on the Memorials, which is supported by the bikers who rallied in Washington on Sept. 11.
As for his fiery rhetoric, Conlon says he expects truckers will be civil.
"It is going to be peaceful and hopefully with no blocking and no arrests," Conlon said of the plans for the Friday-through-Sunday events.
Conlon said he also supports the bikers returning to D.C. to rally with the World War II veterans.
"Any and all help for our veterans is significant," Conlon said.
Responding to a question from WND, co-organizer Zeeda Andrews said that Conlon doesn't speak for her group.
However, Conlon said he is in favor of Andrews' project.
"I support Zeeda's efforts 100 percent. Our goals are to shake the powers of D.C. and to get this government back to following its laws," Conlon said.
Conlon's comments to WND back up a Facebook entry he posted in which he said the fiery US News story rhetoric was intentional.
"The other day I did a US NEWS interview," Conlan wrote. "I told them the truckers were going to lock down the beltway three lanes deep and no one in no one out and I told them we were going to D.C. to demand arrest with the of all the congress and senate and we were coming with the power of a citizen jury."
Conlon said the statement was intended to direct attention to whether or not the members of Congress have kept their oath of office.
"If they refused to obey their oath and uphold the law we the people would find a way. I did this on purpose because the government and media weren't listening," Conlon said.
"We tried to get their attention politely, but because they weren't listening, I did this to get the mainstream media’s attention," Conlon said in his Facebook post.
"It worked and now that the mainstream media is off their a---- and reporting on the truckers and the D.C. rally, we can get the word out to millions of Americans," Conlon said.
"It is and has been my plan to flood D.C. with not hundreds or thousands of people, but millions. Yes, I know the media is trashing me as I figured they would, but what happens to me is not important," Conlon said.
"What is important is that the truckers and patriot's voices get heard. It has never been my intent to incite violence and yes, this rally must remain peaceful," Conlon said.
"You catch more flies with honey then you do vinegar. So to be clear, I want all who come to come and be respectful and peaceful. Now that the media is on board, the world will see Obama's illusions of the happy land of America is NOT HAPPY with him," Conlon said.
"It will show the world that we the people are p----- and want our country back and restored to the freedom and constitutional country it was meant to be," Conlon said.
He declared: "God bless America again and roll truckers roll!"
"2 Million Bikers to D.C.," the group that held the September rally in Washington, voiced its support for the "Truckers to Shut Down America" event in a statement on their Facebook page:
Close your eyes and clear your mind. Now open your eyes. Open a cupboard door. Look inside.
Everything in that cupboard was on a truck at some point in time. The cupboard was on a truck, either as a completed cabinet ready for installation or as the lumber and hardware needed to make that piece of furniture.
Look at the room where the cupboard is. Everything in that room was transported by a truck, including the building materials to build the house/apartment that the room is part of.
If you own it – a trucker brought it to where you could buy it. If you have a garden the seed for that garden came by truck. The only thing the truck didn’t deliver was the plot of ground.
"Truckers Ride for the Constitution" co-organizer Benn Pam believes that the coming together of three rallies in D.C. on the same weekend could make things interesting.
"It is about to hit the fan in big chunks. '2 Million Bikers to D.C.' is organizing for a protective detail for WWII veterans to monuments," Pam said.
Pam added that it's time for the American people to make their will known.
"The United States is now a dictatorship, ruled by the decrees of one man. Spy agencies dominate the government and the people. There is no rule of law. The Constitution is shredded," Pam said. "It's time to rise up."
Earlier, the "Million Vet March on the Memorials" was announced for Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern at the World War II memorial on the National Mall, the location where rangers under orders from the White House tried, unsuccessfully, to prevent vets from visiting.
The announcement said the group Special Operations Speaks is organizing the rally because the Obama administration "is using the government shutdown as an excuse to keep our veterans from acknowledging the debt owed to them and their predecessors."
"This is unforgivable. It is also unjustified, as no taxpayer funds are spent by keeping these shrines open. We will open them ourselves, if that’s what it takes," said the group, founded by former Navy SEAL Larry Bailey.
"We know that there may be some degree of confrontation, given the anti-military attitude of the administration. It is our intention to avoid confrontation, and we request that you join us in avoiding any kind of physical contact with park rangers, police, or other law-enforcement personnel. Give them no excuse to hijack the moment." the organization said.
On its website, there was no waffling about the blame, however.
"In a mean-spirited fit of selfish anger, Barack Obama has shut down our nation's war memorials. And he has declared open war on our honored veterans!" the website says. "The World War II memorial … the Vietnam Veterans Memorial … the Korean War Veterans Memorial – Obama has shut them all down to force his will on the House of Representatives and frankly, to get revenge on the American people who oppose Obamacare and his other naked power grabs."
The message to veterans continued: "Let's put it plainly: Barack Obama is behaving like a vicious tyrant. And if he succeeds in this assault on the democratic system, the republic we love is at mortal risk. It’s just that simple."
Two actions are urged, to sign a petition demanding the opening of the memorials and attendance at the rally.
Scheduled to speak is Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who is helping lead the investigation of the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi.
"Americans have had enough of this shoddy treatment of those who saved our country from tyranny," said Belinda Bee, organizer of "2 Million Bikers to D.C." "These are men in their 80s and 90s. They can't come back next month or next year. This is their chance to share in this American experience dedicated to their heroism. And yet, this administration was willing to lock them out of a memorial that normally is unguarded in an attempt to score political points. We, the leadership of '2 Million Bikers To DC,' urge you to join in this important rally."
The previous rally by bikers took over the city on the same day an event billed as the "Million Muslim March" was to be held. Muslims renamed it the "Million American March Against Fear," but only a few dozen people appeared.
Instead, the city was taken over by bikers exhibiting their patriotism and displeasure with Washington.
Mark Segraves of the NBC affiliate in Washington reported at midday Sept. 11 that only "about 25 people," including activist Cornel West, were at the Muslim march, with a group of Christians about the same size nearby.
In a video interview with MRCTV, the Muslim march organizers would not fault Muslims for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks:
However, the counter-protest by bikers, on Sept. 11, was in evidence everywhere.
Driving in from Canada and from all over the United States, the bikers, who were denied a permit for their demonstration, were flooding the capital.
At approximately 1 p.m., "2 Million Bikers to DC" Facebook page co-founder Belinda Bee posted that police had counted nearly 1 million bikers are on the streets of Washington.
The American Muslim Political Action Committee originally planned the Muslims' march and ended up facing criticism for scheduling it on the anniversary of 9/11.
But organizers insisted the name was changed because many non-Muslim Americans "are terrified of Muslims, who are portrayed by Hollywood and the US media as fanatical terrorists."
AMPAC also claims Muslims, too, "live in fear – of being dragged off in the night to Guantanamo and tortured, simply for the crime of being Muslim in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Organizers refused to change the date of the march, which marked 12 years since the attack by 19 Muslims on New York City and Washington.
"September 11th, 2001 was the beginning of a new era of fear," the organizers insisted. "Since 9/11, Americans have been terrorized by the media."
The bikers, meanwhile, have stated their opposition to Obama's push to "fundamentally transform" the U.S.
Radio giant Rush Limbaugh said Sept. 11 the American public as a whole did not understand what Obama was intending to do when he campaigned in 2008 with that remark.
"They had no idea that fundamentally transforming the United States of America meant turning the Constitution of the United States on its head," Limbaugh said.
"They had no idea that transforming the United States of America meant getting rid of capitalism and replacing it with socialism. They had no idea that it meant co-opting one-sixth of the U.S. economy by the government, the health-care business. They had no idea what Obama was promising. They thought they knew, but they didn't. Some of them may now not even know, but the bikers in D.C. know – and knew."
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