ABC, CBS Lament ‘Insurrection’ Freedom Convoy Opposing Canada’s ‘Efforts to Control’ COVID

After having all but ignored it for weeks (and footnoted it over the weekend), ABC and CBS devoted full segments on Monday morning to the “Freedom Convoy” in Canada by truck drivers and supporters protesting the Liberal government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but dismissed them as standing in the way of Canada’s “efforts to control” the virus and making life difficult and violent for those in the capital city of Ottawa.

NBC has the following: Nightly News Today couldn’t be bothered as they’ve largely turned their newscast over to coverage of the Genocide Games.

CBS MorningsNate Burleson, co-host, fretted “government efforts to control the coronavirus in Canada have run into a wall of protests from people opposed to the vaccine mandates and other restrictions.”

Tossing to correspondent Mola Lenghi, Burleson added how “thousands of truckers and others have clogged the streets for more than ten days.”

Lenghi for his part, however, described the convoy more frighteningly than CBS did for a Black Lives Matter Riot, saying the protests “erupted”And that they take responsibility for their actions “brought downtown Ottawa to a halt, disrupting businesses and flooding police with calls about everything from incessant honking to threats and assaults.”

Accepting the Canadian government’s framing, Lenghi noted the “mayor declared a state of emergency asking for outside help as local authorities say they are outnumbered, and the police chief described being under siege.”

Unlike ABC, Lenghi acknowledged the GoFundMe account for the Freedom Convoy that was shut down (after having raised millions), citing the company’s excuse as having stemmed from Canadian law enforcement telling them the group has engaged in “of violence and other unlawful activity.”

The media instead of trying understand them have chosen to denounce them.

ABC’s Good Morning AmericaRobin Roberts, cohost of The Convoy as a Lead Tease, warned of the scene and featured it in one of her teases “escalat[ing]”As truckers “refuse to leave”As part of the “so-called Freedom Convoy.”

Imagine if Roberts called a BLM mob in May and June 2020 “so-called.”

Correspondent Gio Benitez had the story and went right to the extremes, hyping the belief of how some “are comparing vaccine mandates to fascism” and allegations in Vancouver that “demonstrators allegedly spread nails across roads.”

During his report, he aired this clip from Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly: “The city is under siege. This is a threat to our democracy. It is a widespread insurrection. This is madness.”

“Insurrection?”

The night prior, ABC’s World News TonightCovered as part of the wider COVID segment. Anchor Linsey Davies teased that there were “frustration…boiling over” Phil Lipof, correspondent of the New York Times, said that honks are a sign of respect. “the sound of frustration” with “[t]housands of long-haul truckers angry about a federal mandate requiring them to be vaccinated to cross into the United States.”

The western editions of CBS are also available on CBS. CBS Weekend News twice highlighted it thanks to correspondent Lilia Luciano (click “expand”):

LUCIANO [on 02/05/22]: And today, there were new protests against vaccine mandates and restrictions in Canada. Trucks and tractors rolled into several cities across the country again this weekend. Fears of clashes are rising with police called their actions an occupation. 

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER [on CTV]: People are tired of it.

(….)

LUCIANO [on 02/06/22]: And the anti-mandate battle is spreading across Canada, hundreds of trucks and thousands of people continue blocking roads. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER: I support the truckers because they’re standing up for freedom. 

LUCIANO: But patience on this ninth day of demonstrations is running thin, with counter-protesters demanding an end to disruptions.

[HORNS HONKING]

LUCIANO: Ottawa’s mayor declared a state of emergency because of those protests.

Advertisers such as Progressive (on CBS) and Colgate (on ABC), made it possible to dismiss blue-collar workers that help feed and clothe us as a continent. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.

To see the relevant ABC and CBS transcripts from February 7, click “expand.”

ABC’s Good Morning America
February 7, 2022
Eastern Time: 7:00 AM [TEASE]

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: State of Emergency; Protests Against COVID Restrictions Escalate]

ROBIN ROBERTS: State of emergency declared north of the border as protests against COVID restrictions escalate. Authorities say at least 500 trucks refuse to leave –

[HORNS HONKING]

ROBERTS: — blocking the roads. This morning, the latest on the so-called Freedom Convoy. 

(….)

Eastern at 7:05

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New Developments; “Freedom Convoy” Chaos; State of the Emergency Declared Amid Growing Protests Over COVID Restrictions]

ROBERTS: We’re going to turn now to a state of emergency declared north of the border as protests against COVID restrictions elevate. A so-called Freedom Convoy in Ottawa is causing chaos in the city, blocking the roads. Gio Benitez joins us now with the latest. Gio!

GIO BENITEZ : Good morning Robin. Those protesters are comparing vaccine mandates to fascism. Now, this morning, Ottawa’s mayor is calling this the city’s most serious emergency. This morning, the mayor of Ottawa declaring a state of emergency in response to more than a week of truckers protesting against COVID restrictions. 

[HORNS HONKING]

BENITEZ: The mayor saying the protests pose a threat to public safety. The city center shut down with trucks blocking roads. 

OTTAWA POLICY CHIEF PETER SLOLYThis is the city under siege. This is a threat to our democracy. It is a widespread insurrection. This is insane. 

BENITEZ: It began when thousands of long-haul truckers descended upon the city angry about a federal mandate requiring them to be vaccinated to cross into the United States. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE TESTER [on CTV]: China doesn’t exist. We don’t live in Cuba. It is an independent country. 

BENITEZ: Authorities say at least 500 truckers refuse to leave. 

SLOLOY: This is not a police-only, city of Ottawa-only challenge. It is, in fact, a national challenge. 

BENITEZ: And now, we’re learning the protests have spread to Vancouver where demonstrators allegedly spread nails across roads. T.J. thanks for following us.

T.J. HOLMES As always, we are thankful.

————————–

CBS Mornings
February 7, 2022
Eastern, 7:09 AM

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trucker Vaccine Mandate Protests; State of Emergency in Ottawa as Anti-Vaccine Protests Enter 2^nd Week]

NATE BURLESON: Turning to the pandemic, government efforts to control the coronavirus in Canada have run into a wall of protests from people opposed to the vaccine mandates and other restrictions. In the capital city of Ottawa, thousands of truckers and others have clogged the streets for more than ten days. Ottawa’s mayor has now declared a state of emergency. The protests spread to other cities, and the protesters are getting major support from the U.S. Mola Lenghi has the details.

[HORNS HONKING]

MOLA LENGHI: What started as a protest against U.S. and Canadian rules requiring truckers to be fully vaccinated to enter either country has erupted into a movement of thousands against the Canadian public health system. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER: We don’t need the government to overreach to tell us what to do. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE PROTESTER: The unvaccinated for two years have been shamed and thrown under the bus. 

LENGHI: The protesters took to the streets for the second week in a row with a convoy of semi-trucks blocking intersections. They brought downtown Ottawa to a halt, disrupting businesses and flooding police with calls about everything from incessant honking to threats and assaults. 

OTTAWA MAYOR JIM WATSON: We’re in the midst of a serious emergency, the most serious emergency our city’s ever faced.

LENGHI: On Sunday, Ottawa’s mayor declared a state of emergency asking for outside help as local authorities say they are outnumbered, and the police chief described being under siege. 

[HORNS HONKING]

LENGHI: The protests have drawn praise from former President Donald Trump and Ottawa police say the convoy is getting significant logistical and financial support from people in the United States. On Friday, GoFundMe shut down a fundraiser for the so-called “Freedom Convoy,” which had garnered nearly $8 million U.S. In a statement, the company said it was done “as a result of multiple discussions with local law enforcement and police reports of violence and other unlawful activity.”

WATSON: Someone is going to get injured or seriously killed if they don’t understand the severity of the situation. 

LENGHI is for CBS Mornings, I’m Mola Lenghi.