“Freedom-loving Americans” organized a series of caravans this week, planning to gather at sites along the southern border to protest the influx of migrants entering the U.S.
In advance of their “peaceful assembly,” the Take Our Border Back Southern Border Convoy has already raised almost $140,000 for its cause.
A group of right-wing media personalities and figures have called upon service members, law enforcement officers, veterans, ranchers, truckers, bikers, and “Mama Bears” to attend the rallies to call on the federal government to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Take Our Border Back” organized convoys heading to rally sites in Texas, Arizona, and California throughout the week. The Feb. 3 rallies, as described on the group’s website, will center around “peaceful assembly & prayer.”
“PACK YOUR CAMPERS, CARS, RVs & TRUCKS! BRING YOUR CHAIRS, COOLERS & A KIND HEART!” the group’s website reads. “Make your Voices heard America!! Roll with us!!”
But when speaking on internal organizing calls, convoy leaders have used less jolly, less secular rhetoric.
“We are besieged on all sides by dark forces of evil,” VICE reported an organizer said on a convoy planning call. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. It is time for the remnant to rise.”
Days away from the rallies, Take Our Borders Back raised almost $140,000 on GiveSendGo, a Christian digital donation platform.
On the group’s page, it says the money it is raising will go to gas, permits, fees for the rallies, lighting, and “media-technology support.”
Recent donations from convoy supporters reference “God’s mercy” and the Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrection.
“God’s Mercy and Grace as you go with God’s Rearguard,” a giver captioned their $21 contribution.
“God bless, stay safe and peaceful,” another contributor said alongside their $50 donation. “Learn the lesson of J6!”
Other contributors have given much larger amounts: The group’s largest donation came from an anonymous donor who sent $3,000. Other big givers sent messages to the convoy along with money.
“God Bless Texas and All Who Defend Her,” an anonymous donor who contributed $1,000 wrote. Another $1,000 came from someone who signed their donation as “BuildTheWall.”
In recent years, car and truck-based protests have seen an uptick in the U.S. and Canada. In 2022, the Freedom Convoy made headlines for its blockades in protest of Canada’s COVID-19 mandates. Both former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) cheered on the Canadian group’s efforts. That same year, the People’s Convoy circled D.C. in protest of efforts combatting the spread of COVID-19, but their Beltway “blockade” didn’t amount to much.
The Take Our Border Back convoy announced its existence on social media on Jan. 12, but the fervor around the cause built after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with President Joe Biden’s administration after its federal border agents cut down razor wire that had been placed on Texas’s southern border. The wire was authorized by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who has outlined what he calls “Texas’s constitutional right to self-defense” in response.
“James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and other visionaries who wrote the U.S. Constitution foresaw that States should not be left to the mercy of a lawless president who does nothing to stop external threats like cartels smuggling millions of illegal immigrants across the border,” Abbott said in a statement. “The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border.”
The Take Our Border Back group has espoused similar rhetoric on its website.
“The time is now for We The People to peacefully assemble in honor of our Constitutional Rights,” Take Our Border Back imagery reads. “To call on our government to Take Action and SECURE OUR BORDERS!”
