North Stonington — A random sampling of truckers refueling their rigs at the Pilot truck stop here Thursday afternoon found them largely unfamiliar with plans for the "People’s Convoy," next week’s cross-country protest against COVID-19 mandates.

But to a man, they supported the idea that the government has no right to order vaccinations.

That was the position held by the thousands of truckers who took part in the “Freedom Convoy” that paralyzed Ottawa, the Canadian capital, eventually causing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke emergency powers that enabled him to ban protests. Trudeau had sparked the unrest by mandating that all truck drivers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or quarantine for 14 days before entering Canada.

If U.S. truckers manage to stage a similar protest, Josue Echeverria is in.

“One hundred percent,” Echeverria said after pulling into the truck stop off Exit 93 of Interstate 95. “As a business owner, if something does get organized and I can make it, I will participate — as long as everything is peaceful.”

Echeverria said he owns Aly Transport of Kissimmee, Fla., and has four trucks hauling freight. He said he and all of his drivers are vaccinated.

“It is a personal choice,” he said. “What they were protesting in Canada is overregulation.”

Echeverria joked he’d just as soon protest the price of diesel fuel — $4.39 a gallon Thursday at Pilot, which he said was up 35 cents in two weeks.

The People’s Convoy, scheduled to depart Wednesday from California, could protest in Washington, D.C., on March 1, the date scheduled for President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address. Participation in the convoy is being sought among truckers across the U.S., including Connecticut, largely via social media.

On a convoy website, organizers demand that the president's declaration of a national emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic be rescinded immediately.

David Lewis of Manchester, who was driving a car-carrier Thursday, said he hadn’t heard details of the convoy and probably wouldn’t participate.

“I listen to music while I’m driving, and I’ve got two kids and a wife at home. I don’t watch a lot of news except for weather,” he said. “As far as forcing an individual to get a vaccine — I don’t agree with it.”

Lewis said he did believe that a business should be able to mandate its employees get vaccinated. He said he and his family got vaccinated because “people smarter than me” recommended they do so.

Marq Burnett, who drives for a trucking company in the Philadelphia area, said he’d heard about the convoy on social media and might participate “if I can get there.”

A self-described “free thinker,” Burnett said he isn’t vaccinated and has driven throughout the pandemic without any problems, adding, “People should have the right to decide for themselves.”

What if his employer mandated vaccinations?

“I’d have to find another job,” he said.

Fredrick Martin, an independent trucker from New York City, said he’d be willing to join the convoy.

“Depends on if I have the time,” he said. “I have to take care of my family.”

“We need to stick to the liberties this country was founded on,” Martin said, asserting vaccine-taking is a personal choice. “It’s a slippery slope. If we allow the government to do this (mandate vaccinations), what will they want us to do next?”

Convoy organizers in Connecticut are collecting donations of nonperishable food, water, blankets, fuel and other items at a half-dozen locations in the state from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, according to a Facebook post. One of the locations is the commuter lot at I-95 and Route 161 (Exit 74) in East Lyme.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com