Ted Cruz rode with the 'People's Convoy' truckers around the DC Beltway to protest against vaccine mandates

• Ted Cruz rode with "People's Convoy" truckers on Thursday.
• Cruz joined the anti-vaccine mandate protesters to circle the DC Beltway.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Thursday joined truckers in the "People's Convoy" to circle the DC Beltway in protest against vaccine mandates.

Cruz visited the convoy at the Hagerstown Speedway racetrack, where hundreds of truckers have been gathering since Friday night, then boarded the lead truck to head towards DC, per The Washington Post.

As of press time, the convoy had been circling the Beltway — which surrounds the capital city — for four days in an attempt to disrupt traffic. The protest was inspired by the "Freedom Convoy" in Canada, and its participants have demanded the lifting of all COVID-19 mandates.

"I am proud to stand with you. I am proud to stand alongside you as we fight for freedom, and people are waking up all across this country," Cruz told a crowd on Thursday. "What the men and women want here is for the government to leave you the hell alone."

Cruz also posted a video of himself riding shotgun in a truck, smiling, waving, and flashing thumbs-up signs to the sound of blaring horns.

One of the convoy's organizers, Brian Brase, cheered Cruz's presence on Thursday.

"There ain't no ignoring a senator riding in the lead truck," he told the crowd at the racetrack, per The Post. "That's basically an endorsement of what we're doing."

Speaking to members of the media, Cruz said, per The Post: "These policies are cruel, and they are immoral, and I think it is time to end them all and let people live their lives."

"I'm proud to listen to these guys, to hear their passion, hear why they're here, why they're fighting, and I'm proud to stand with them," he said, according to the outlet.

Cruz's appearance followed a meeting he and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson had with the truckers on Wednesday.

During the session, he claimed that he is often approached by people expressing their gratitude for his efforts in protesting against vaccine mandates.

"Every week, I fly back and forth to Houston. Almost without exception, every time I'm on an airplane flying to Cancun, either the captain or a flight attendant will come up to me, will hug me, and say, 'Thank you for fighting for us,'" Cruz said.

The leaders of the "People's Convoy" say they plan to continue circling the Beltway until all COVID-19 restrictions are scrapped.

"We're gonna keep looping the Beltway until heard," Brase told ABC News on Wednesday. "We're not going anywhere. We're not gonna leave. We're gonna keep doing what we're doing until we start getting more meetings like we just had today."

Large parts of the US have lifted COVID-19 restrictions, with areas like Los Angeles County easing mask restrictions with proof of vaccination. Washington DC, too, has eased its COVID-19 restrictions, dropping vaccine requirements and lifting the city's mandate on indoor masking on March 1.