Trucker Protest Falls Thousands Short of Goal

The "Truckers Ride for the Constitution" protest kicked off in Washington today, slowing traffic at times to a 15mph crawl on the Capital Beltway. But the event wasn't quite as mammoth a headache as advertised. Organizers had called for 10,000 trucks, a number they missed by, well, about 10,000. Only a handful of people showed up for the protest, Fox News reports, and police say the convoy contained about 30 trucks.

Police pulled over the trucks and told them not to impede traffic, but didn't issue any tickets. The protest had been intended to cripple the capital for three days, and the group expects a bigger turnout tomorrow. It has issued an eclectic list of demands that included President Obama's resignation, an end to NSA surveillance, and an increase of the debt ceiling. (More truckers stories.)