More than 60 activists have been arrested during an Extinction Rebellion protest in the center of Times Square Thursday, NYPD officials confirmed.
The demonstrators associated with the environmental pressure group parked a lime green sailboat on Broadway and West 44th Street at around 10:00am, in an apparent stunt to symbolize Earth’s rising sea levels.
Dozens of protesters then surrounded the vessel, gluing their hands to the exterior and sitting down on the ground in the heart of Times Square, blocking cars from being able to pass.
The protests are part of a two-week peaceful civil disobedience campaign calling on governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025 and halt a loss of biodiversity.
Dozens of Extension Rebellion protesters parked a lime green sailboat on Broadway and West 44th Street at around 10am, in an apparent stunt to symbolize Earth’s rising sea levels
surrounded the vessel, gluing their hands to the exterior and sitting down on the ground in the heart of Times Square, while blocking cars from being able to pass
The protests are part of a two-week peaceful civil disobedience campaign calling on governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025 and halt a loss of biodiversity
The demonstration on Broadway lasted for more than 90 minutes and causes mass disruption to traffic
Officers from the NYPD surrounded the activists, demanding that they move. However, the group refused and continued to repeatedly chant ‘This is a climate emergency’ in response.
Streets were closed on Seventh Avenue from 42nd-47th Streets at 10:30 am, along with 43rd, 44th and 45th Street between Sixth and Eighth Avenues.
Reports say authorities had to use a chemical to free the activist’s hands from the side of the boat.
By noon, many of the protesters had been removed and the boat was towed away by police.
So far, the NYPD say 62 have been arrested in the demonstration.
Officers from the NYPD surrounded the activists, demanding that they move. However, the group refused and continued to repeatedly chant ‘This is a climate emergency’ in response.
Reports say authorities had to use a chemical to free the activist’s hands from the side of the boat
By noon, many of the protesters had been removed and the boat was towed away by police
A protester holds up a cartoon of President Donald Trump, showing him in a prison jumpsuit and locked behind bars
The group Extinction Rebellion launched an international protest against government inaction on climate change this earlier this week, urging demonstrators to take action in 60 different cities worldwide such as London, Paris and Berlin.
‘Numerous actions will take place during the week of October 7th, focusing on institutions whose decisions greatly impact the climate crisis. Among the themes of these actions will be finance, media, education and culture,’ a statement from the group reads.
‘Traversing the city during Rebellion Week will be a mobile boat that Extinction Rebellion has christened ‘Vaquita.’ It is named for an almost extinct porpoise, native to the northern part of the Gulf of California.’
Crowds gathered round to observe the demonstration. One protester even inflated a rubber dingy, offering reporters a rude hand gesture
So far, the NYPD say 62 have been arrested in the demonstration
The group Extinction Rebellion launched an international protest against government inaction on climate change this earlier this week, urging demonstrators to take action in 60 different cities worldwide such as London, Paris and Berlin (pictured: a protester tied to the boat’s mast is cut free by police)
One activist wearing a ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ vest is taken away in handcuffs (left). Others watched on with their hands still firmly planted on the boat, chanting in support of climate policy reform
In total the NYPD arrested 62 demonstrators – a stark increase on the 26 people arrested on Wall Street Monday
Hundreds of environmental activists with the group Extinction Rebellion descended on New York City ‘s Financial District on Monday morning to protest against climate change.
Twenty-six people were arrested at around 10.30am after protesters poured fake blood on the famous Charging Bull statue near Wall Street.
One woman was arrested for reckless endangerment after she climbed on top of the bull waving a green Extinction Rebellion flag.
The protesters staged a ‘die-in’ by covering themselves with the fake blood and lying in the street.
Justin Becker, who helped organize the NYC protests, said they chose to demonstrate in the Financial District because the fossil fuel industry is directly connected to the financial interests of Wall Street.
‘The blood of the world is here,’ Becker told the Associated Press.
‘A lot of blood has been spilled by the decisions of the powerful and the status quo and the toxic system that we live in.’
Hundreds of environmental activists with the group Extinction Rebellion descended on New York City ‘s Financial District on Monday morning to protest against climate change
The protesters staged a ‘die-in’ by covering themselves with the fake blood and lying in the street
Extinction Rebellion, also known as XR,is a loose-knit movement that began in Britain last year and now has chapters in 56 countries worldwide.
A description on the group’s website warns: ‘The collapse of climate and ecosystems is accelerating. We are nearly out of time.
‘Decades of protests, petitions and donations to environmental groups have done nothing to slow catastrophic change. Food and water shortages, resource wars, economic breakdown, and millions of new climate refugees are on the horizon.
‘Human survival itself is at risk as temperatures continue to rise.’
Dubbed the Global Extinction Rebellion, the group’s latest campaign ‘will use nonviolent direct actions and peaceful civil disobedience to disrupt business-as-usual in order to compel governments to act now to save a livable climate’, according to the website.