text: A group of truck drivers are planning to protest the federal government by backing up the Capital Beltway around Washington, D.C. 
   
   
   
   The group “Truckers for the Constitution” is hoping to call attention to its frustration with regulations from the Obama administration and the overall political climate in the U.S. with an appeal that echoes the early rhetoric of the Tea Party. 
   
   
   
   “Independent Truckers of America are essentially operating on extremely low; and in most cases working below minimum wage, and all paying exorbitant fuel costs and fees,” the group said on its website, RideForTheConstitution.org. 
   
   
   
   “American truckers are also very politically astute and great patriots, they are all well aware of what is happening to our U.S. Constitution,” the website continued. “Through this campaign, they are leading the convoy of all Americans coast-to-coast who wish to restore our constitutional republic. America is calling out to our Patriots, and if any group can help lead the charge to save our nation, it’s the U.S. truckers.” 
   
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   The truck drivers are complaining about their wages, gas prices and the Obama administration’s regulations of their industry. Additionally, they are unhappy with reports the U.S. government was spying on American citizens earlier this year and the amount of debt the country has.The group framed its decision to protest by backing up the 64-mile Capital Beltway as a necessity to get the attention of lawmakers.“All Americans are frustrated with the lawlessness of our congressman and senators who refuse to work on behalf of the American people,” the truck driver group said on its website. “It has become apparent that our elected officials will never respond to the will of the people as long as their greed wealth is not jeopardized. 
   
   "The only thing that motivates every politician is their money — cutting off their money-flow cuts off their life-blood. The Independent Truckers in the United States essentially keep commerce flowing for benefit of the central government.” 
   
   
   
   Like the initial rise of the Tea Party in 2009, the truck drivers cast their protest in stark terms. 
   
   
   
   “The only way to get our legislators to operate lawfully and constitutionally is to penalize them with a credible threat of a shutdown,” the group said. “Through this effort, the American people can demand that all congressmen and senators sign on to the demands for them to operate lawfully and Constitutionally, or risk a possible shutdown if they refuse to follow the law; the supreme law of the land; the U.S. Constitution.” 
   
   
   
   The flyer the truck drivers are distributing for their planned protest names President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as “domestic enemies.” 
   
   
   
   “Share this document,” the flyer says. “Copy it, re-post it, encourage everyone else to do the same. 
   
   
   
   “We are Americans who run the United States of America — it’s not run by a bunch of Global Banking Cartels,” the flyer continues. “This is our house; our country; our government, and each of us needs to take ownership of how we succeed in this event. If we want to save our country, we will do so. If we don’t, it will be because you as an individual wanted someone else to save it for you — this is why we are in this mess — because we trusted our government and the politicians who’ve promised they would serve the people. 
   
   
   
   "Look where that has gotten us. It’s time for each of us to say enough is enough & show them who runs this country. Let’s make them panic by getting off the couch. We the people will save our country.” 
   
   ||||| (Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images) 
   
   Update: Truckers are no longer planning to arrest members of Congress. Read the latest news about the protest here. 
   
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   This story was originally posted at 1:47 p.m. Monday: 
   
   Tractor-trailer drivers will intentionally clog the inner loop of the Washington, D.C., beltway beginning on the morning of Oct. 11, according to a coordinator of the upcoming "Truckers Ride for the Constitution" rally. 
   
   Organizers of the three-day ride want to call attention to a litany of trucker frustrations and express their disapproval of national political leaders. 
   
   Earl Conlon, a Georgia trucker who is handling logistics for the protest, told U.S. News tractor-trailer drivers will circle the beltway "three lanes deep" as he rides with other participants to Congress to seek the arrest of congressmen for allegedly disregarding the Constitution. 
   
   The truckers circling I-495 will keep the left lane open for emergency vehicles, Conlon said, but "everybody that doesn't have a supporter sticker on their window, good luck: Nobody in, nobody out." The trucks will be going the 55 mile-per-hour speed limit. 
   
   D.C. commuters who wish to be allowed past the convoy must have "T2SDA" – an acronym for the event's original name, "Truckers to Shut Down America" – written on their vehicle, he said. 
   
   "It's going to be real fun for anyone who is not a supporter," Conlon said, "[and] if cops decide to give us a hard time, we're going to lock the brakes up, we're going to stop right there, we're going to be a three lane roadblock." 
   
   Zeeda Andrews, a former country music singer helping promote the protest, said last week participants would present demands to congressmen – including the impeachment of President Barack Obama – and give the congressmen an opportunity to agree to the demands in exchange for canceling the ride. 
   
   But Conlon says that's not quite right. 
   
   "We are not going to ask for impeachment," Conlon said. "We are coming whether they like it or not. We're not asking for impeachment, we're asking for the arrest of everyone in government who has violated their oath of office." 
   
   Conlon cited the idea of a citizens grand jury – meaning a pool of jurors convened without court approval – as the mechanism for indicting the officials. 
   
   "We want these people arrested, and we're coming in with the grand jury to do it," he said. "We are going to ask the law enforcement to uphold their constitutional oath and make these arrests. If they refuse to do it, by the power of the people of the United States and the people's grand jury, they don't want to do it, we will. ... We the people will find a way." 
   
   It's almost certain that anyone attempting to "arrest" a member of Congress would be arrested themselves for attempted kidnapping. 
   
   Conlon and Andrews say Obama committed "treason" by allegedly funneling weapons to al-Qaida-linked rebels in Syria. Members of Congress who support arming Syrian rebels, Conlon said, are accessories to the alleged crime. He identified House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., as politicians he will seek to arrest for alleged acts against the Constitution. 
   
   Andrews said last week 3,000 truckers had RSVP-ed to the event, and Conlon says he's now lost count of the number. He says he's receiving around 100 emails a day from prospective participants. 
   
   "What we want to do is go in nice and peaceful and keep it as peaceful as possible... but if they decide to get ugly with us we're going to do what we have to do," he said. "If all I get is one or two congressmen walked out of there in handcuffs, that will be a shot across the bow that will ripple across all branches of government. ... I hope they are all civil enough and brave enough to step out onto the congressional steps." 
   
   Trucker-specific grievances behind the protest include Environmental Protection Agency fuel efficiency standards and the high cost of diesel fuel. State and local anti-idling laws as well as insurance companies purportedly requiring technological updates are among the irritations, as is the perceived deterioration of Fourth Amendment rights protecting truckers' cabs. 
   
   Whether or not the truckers pack a punch to D.C. area traffic depends on the number and intensity level of participants. A similar three-day protest in 2007, against illegal immigration and competition from Mexican truckers, did not spoil commutes as feared, the Washington Examiner reported. A Facebook page advertising the upcoming ride has close to 50,000 likes. 
   
   Watch: Bikers head toward D.C. on Sept. 11: 
   
   More News: 
   
   Updated on Oct. 8, 2013 : An update has been attached to this article.
target: – Protesting truckers are planning a shutdown of their own—on Washington's beltway. Starting on Friday morning, they intend to fill the road "three lanes deep" with tractor-trailers, an organizer of "Truckers Ride for the Constitution" tells US News and World Report. In a demonstration against what they view as violations of the Constitution, planners like Earl Conlon are calling for "the arrest of everyone in government who has violated their oath of office." Their grievances include truckers' wages, industry regulations, and NSA spying, the Hill reports. They're also accusing President Obama of treason for allegedly putting weapons in the hands of rebels with ties to al-Qaeda. Organizers have received some 3,000 RSVPs, says one. Moving at the 55mph speed limit, they'll leave a lane open for emergency vehicles; vehicles with "T2SDA," or "Truckers to Shut Down America," displayed will also be allowed to pass. "Everybody that doesn't have a supporter sticker on their window, good luck: Nobody in, nobody out," says Conlon. A Facebook page for the event has more than 55,000 "likes."