Sixteen outraged climate activists were cuffed outside of Trump Tower on Earth Day, Wednesday, after the group sat in the roadway outside of the president’s namesake building and blocked traffic over what they called a farcical DOJ investigation.
The demonstration began just after noon on April 22 on the sidewalk of 5th Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets. The group, known as Extinction Rebellion, sang songs and raised flags and banners. They looked to take the fight to Trump after they said they were being investigated by the Department of Justice as Domestic Terrorists for several of their protests over the years.
“Trump is the terrorist, we are non-violent protestors,” one demonstrator yelled.
Just before 1 p.m., the group took to the 5th Avenue roadway, sitting in the street and refusing to move to make their point about the president, charging that they are committed to saving the planet through nonviolent actions.
“President Trump calls Americans sounding the alarm about the climate catastrophe ‘terrorists,’ but it is the President who is terrorizing people all over the world and denying future generations a livable planet,” said Jenna Cardinale, an Extinction Rebellion member who participated in the action.
For about 30 minutes, protesters commandeered the roadway while police demanded they vacate the area or be arrested. Police used zip-ties to cuff the demonstrators and were forced to take possession of an MTA bus before they began their arrests in order to transport the prisoners.
The National Security Presidential Memorandum, also known as NSPM-7, was issued by Trump to investigate domestic terrorism in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. However, the Extinction Rebellion says it is instead being used to target critics of the president.
“NSPM-7 criminalizes protest in this country and encourages a witch hunt. Extinction Rebellion isn’t the enemy within — that’s the president,” Will Regan said, an Extinction Rebellion member.
“The climate emergency is becoming more dire by the day. We won’t be silenced because there’s no time to wait,” Matthew Menzies added, another member of the group.
The 16 arrested protesters were taken to the 7th Precinct for processing; their charges are pending.
