For the second day in a row, the 1,000-vehicle People’s Convoy turned the D.C. Beltway into a parking lot as all lanes of traffic fell to a standstill multiple times today.

The People’s Convoy will be joined by the Convoy for America and the American Freedom Convoy to add an estimated 1,000 more vehicles to the protest on Monday night.

As the protesting vehicles lap the 64-mile highway surrounding Washington D.C., traffic has been forced to slow significantly, and congressional staff has been instructed to either work from home or get a hotel room.

In response to the presence of the convoy, the Capitol Police Board has already issued an emergency declaration. The Pentagon has approved requests to extend the National Guard support at traffic control points until Wednesday.

 

The convoy intends to avoid impeding traffic necessarily. Brian Brase, the 37-year-old organizer of the People’s Convoy, said, “We do not want to impede traffic any more than necessary to get our message across.”

“If they don’t come to the table to meet with us or ignore us, then every day it will escalate,” added Brase.

 

On Tuesday, at least 20 convoy members plan to meet with Congressional senators and representatives, including Rep.  Matt Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Brase said he is “hopeful that [they] will have successful dialogue with congressmen and women and senators”. The convoy organizer is also optimistic that this meeting will help the protestors “get what [they’re] looking for pushed through in a timely fashion.”