With the slogan “Love in Action,” climate activists blocked a major commuter route for the nation’s capital and vandalized a case protecting the U.S. Constitution in honor of Valentine’s Day.
Declare Emergency, a climate extremism group, kicked off its February “week of action” Tuesday by blocking the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which runs along the Potomac River just outside Washington.
“Nonviolent civil disobedience is from a place of love and respect for our fellow citizens to include them in this time of pain pending [the] Earth’s climate system collapse that we’re facing,” Declare Emergency spokesperson Tim Martin told The Daily Signal.
Police arrested three activists with the group, he said.
Martin said police arrested two Declare Emergency activists, Donald Zepeda and Holliday Adams, for blocking the parkway about 11 a.m. Tuesday near Overlook No. 2 in Arlington, Virginia. The protest caused traffic to back up for 6 miles, according to Declare Emergency.
Martin said police arrested Zepeda again Wednesday alongside fellow activist Jackson Green. The two poured red powder on themselves and a display case housing an original copy of the Constitution about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building, just north of the National Mall.
Officials closed the Rotunda immediately afterward, and said it would remain closed Thursday for cleaning.
“The National Archives Rotunda is the sanctuary for our nation’s founding documents. They are here for all Americans to view and understand the principles of our nation,” Colleen Shogan, archivist of the United States, said in a press release. “We take such vandalism very seriously and we will insist that the perpetrators be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Martin said arrests are the best way to draw attention to Declare Emergency’s cause.
“We do it not because we want to, but because we have to because things are that bad. Like we use our bodies, giving up some freedoms in the criminal justice system and all the legal repercussions that come with it, to prove a point,” Martin said.
Declare Emergency decided to pour red powder on the case displaying the Constitution at the National Archives because the founding document is supposed to “guarantee rights,” yet “nobody voted for climate breakdown,” Martin said.
Martin acknowledged that the protests caused “inconveniences” for tourists, commuters, and other drivers, but said the climate crisis poses a far more significant inconvenience.
“How will people feel about being inconvenienced by food not showing up at the grocery store?” Martin said. “Because climate heating is going to cause a collapse of our food system, and it’s a global system. And the countries around the equator are going to become uninhabitable, so they’re not going to be able to grow food.”
Activists with Declare Emergency often disrupt the D.C. area with nonviolent but illegal demonstrations designed to urge President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency. Declaring an emergency, they argue, would give the president more flexibility to act without Congress’ involvement.
Biden would be able to ban U.S. crude oil exports, end offshore drilling, rush the manufacturing of electric vehicles, and more, activists argue. This could send gas prices skyrocketing and alienate European allies that rely on America to decrease their dependence on Russia to meet energy needs.
Martin said he admires Zepeda’s courage for exposing himself to back-to-back arrests. The group’s spokesman said he wishes he could participate in the “sacred sacrifice” of getting arrested on behalf of the climate, but has to look out for his children.
Risking arrest through civil disobedience can be therapeutic for those concerned about climate change, Martin said.
“Other people who are paying attention are so worried that this is almost like therapy, because you’re doing something,” he said.
But Martin said he fears that Declare Emergency’s strategy isn’t sustainable for much longer, since the group hasn’t seen civil disobedience yielding results.
“We have to reassess. America is deeply in denial or distraction,” Martin said. “With all this going on, I feel like for whatever reason nobody’s paying attention. So I just don’t know how long we can keep doing this. We won’t hang our hats up, but we might make another demand.”
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