Moment CitiBank guard punches climate change activist in face during protest at firm’s NYC HQ
A climate protester was hospitalized with facial injuries on Wednesday after being beaten by a security guard at Citibank headquarters in New York. Common dreams defeated.
The incident occurred when activists from the Summer of Heat campaign gathered in the bank’s lobby.
Eren Can Illeri, the injured protester, was part of the protest demanding a meeting with Citibank executives to discuss the bank’s continued investments in fossil fuels.
Summer of Heat, a coalition supported by New York Communities for Change, Planet Over Profit and Stop the Money Pipeline, has made Citibank a top target this summer.
Since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, Citibank has invested $396.3 billion in coal, gas and oil infrastructure projects.
A climate protester was hospitalized with facial injuries on Wednesday after being beaten by a security guard at Citibank’s New York headquarters, protest organizers said.
Eren Can Illeri (pictured), the injured protester, was part of the protest demanding a meeting with Citibank executives to discuss the bank’s continued investments in fossil fuels.
“We have been asking Citi for weeks to talk to us about what it can do to address the climate emergency,” said Alicé Nascimento, a spokesperson for Summer of Heat. Common dreams“But instead of meeting us, they sent their security guards to physically attack peaceful climate activists, after weeks of intimidation and threats.”
Video footage of the incident shows Illeri filming with his phone when a guard approached him and tried to take the device.
The guard then punched Illeri in the face and pushed him to the ground.
“Citi is supporting violence, and that’s disgusting,” said Alice Hu, a climate activist for New York Communities for Change, who said the violence at the company’s headquarters is a direct reflection of “fossil fuel violence and climate chaos.”
Pictured: A coalition of immigrant communities and climate activists protest outside Citigroup’s headquarters. Activists, some of whom are members of Extinction Rebellion and the Sunrise Movement, took part in the protest, which targeted immigrant communities affected by the bank’s financial support for fossil fuel industries.
Since its launch on June 10, Summer of Heat has mobilized more than 4,000 people to protest against Citibank.
More than 475 people have been arrested in connection with these protests, including a grandfather playing the cello last week.
Protesters last month also reported being pushed by a top Citibank lawyer.
“Citi has proven time and again that their violent business is rooted in violent people,” Planet Over Profit said. “This cannot continue.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Citibank for comment.