‘We’ve got kids to feed…’I want to work’: Moment enraged commuters tear away banners from climate activists blocking roads in furious rush hour conflict
- Commuters got out of their cars to shout at eco-demonstrators on the road
- The protesters in Washington DC were arrested by local police shortly afterwards
New footage has been released of enraged commuters tearing away banners from climate activists blocking traffic in Washington DC during rush hour.
Several people got out of their cars to shout at members of the anti-fossil fuel group Declare Emergency who were sitting on the busy road Saturday morning.
“I want to work, I want to go to work,” a man was heard to say as he snatched their banners from their hands.
“You don’t care, get the hell out of here! We’ve got to get to work,” another woman was heard shouting into the faces of the demonstrators.
“We’ve got kids to feed, b—h.”
Several people got out of their cars to yell at members of the anti-fossil fuel group Declare Emergency, pictured here on a busy DC highway on Saturday
“You don’t care, get the hell out of here! We’ve got to get to work,’ you heard another woman yell
“I want to work, I want to work,” a man was heard to say as he snatched their banners from their hands.
Shortly after commuters began attacking the demonstrators, local police officers arrived and stated that the group were all “under arrest for contempt of court,” which the drivers applauded.
While protesters normally get three warnings before being arrested, D.C. officers simply issued one, with one officer yelling at them, “You don’t get three warnings.”
The protest group said in a tweet Monday, “For us, this was a great way to continue the legacy of Dr. (Martin Luther) King and continue his tradition of disruptive, nonviolent civil disobedience!”
Declare Emergency says on its website that being arrested is an “important” part of their job.
“Mass arrest is a key strategy of historic nonviolence movements that demanded systemic change from their governments,” Declare Emergency said on its website.
The irate commuters shouted at the protesters, who claimed to be performing a public service
“Mass arrest is a key strategy of historic nonviolence movements that demanded systemic change from their governments,” Declare Emergency said on its website.
Every time the state imprisons us for nonviolently demanding a viable future, we win a moral battle.
“The more the state oppresses those who demand the right to live in a sustainable world, the less tenable its moral stance becomes in the eyes of the wider public.”
MailOnline has contacted Declare Emergency for an official comment on the protest.
“The more the state oppresses those who demand the right to live in a sustainable world, the less tenable its moral stance becomes in the eyes of the wider public,” Declare Emergency said on its website.
The protesters were arrested by DC police, who said they had been arrested for ‘contempt of court’
The anger at the DC protesters came shortly before rangers broke through a climate protest blocking the road to Nevada’s Burning Man festival.
Video footage shows six protesters from climate activism groups Seven Circles and Extinction Rebellion blocking the road with a trailer and locking themselves into it.
The demonstration caused major backlogs, with cars stuck in traffic jams for miles on end.
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Police officers plowed through the blockade before arresting the demonstrators.
One officer got out of the vehicle and ordered a woman to lie on the ground at gunpoint before telling her to “stop resisting arrest.”
The eco-fanatics screamed in horror and some sobbed and said ‘We are non-violent’ as they were taken away.