Demonstrators were arrested in a wave of US
protests that are part of a global week of action by the UK-based groupExtinction Rebellion climate crisis activists protest at
New York City’s famous Charging Bull statue. Photograph: Mike Segar/ReutersMore than 20 people were arrested by
police in New York City’s financial district after Extinction Rebellion climate
protesters poured fake blood over the famous Charging Bull statue, a symbol of
American capitalist might.The protesters launched a wave of disruptive protests in the city on Monday. A smaller number of arrests were made at a “die in” outside New York’s stock exchange, with protesters subsequently blocking a nearby road to traffic.Protests are also taking place in other US cities, including
Washington DC and
Chicago, as part of a global week of action by the UK-founded activist group, which is seeking to make its first major mark in America.Climate crisis activists demonstrate in
New York City where Extinction Rebellion organizers expect several thousand to congregate this week. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/ReutersExtinction Rebellion organizers expect several thousand people will congregate in New York’s Washington Square Park for a week of protests and speeches that are expected to involve actions that will prompt further arrests.“There will be broad disruption of business as usual,” said a New York-based Extinction Rebellion spokesman. “Frankly we don’t have time to wait for an opportune moment. Climate breakdown is under way and we can’t afford to wait.”Extinction Rebellion has a philosophy of nonviolent direct action aimed at pushing governments to confront the climate crisis. A key demand is that planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions are reduced to net zero within six years.A climate crisis activist covered in fake blood is arrested in New York City during the Extinction Rebellion demonstration. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP via Getty ImagesThe activist network has gained a high profile in the
UK, following successful attempts to shut down parts of central London. Activists are hoping for a similar impact in the US, despite concerns over a more aggressive style of policing and an unsympathetic federal government, led by
Donald Trump, that actively promotes fossil fuels and is regularly derisive of climate science.“We need to account for the damage caused by fossil fuels because we have the chance of losing it all,” said Jim Navarre, a protestor from New York’s Long Island who help up a sign reading “You can’t comb over climate change” with a picture of Trump’s hair atop the globe.Climate crisis activists gather in Battery Park during Extinction Rebellion demonstrations in New York. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP via Getty ImagesYana Landowne, also from New York, said she was inspired to join the protests by
British friends. “I see this as a movement I need to get behind, I realized I had to bring my whole being to this movement,” she said.The stock exchange protest featured a mock funeral with people strewn on the ground, covered in blood. Tombstones mentioning hurricanes and fires made worse by the climate crisis were held aloft, along with a coffin with the words “Our future” written on the side. A New Orleans-style funereal band played for the several hundred protestors.“It’s a powerful message,” Landowne said. “But more than death I fear living amongst the terror of people killing each other for water and food.”