Dozens of activists arrested in a ‘global climate rebellion’

Arrests are underway as environmental protesters kicked off what they dubbed a “global rebellion” for the climate today. Protests organized by the group Extinction Rebellion are planned throughout 60 cities over the week.

There have been more than 135 arrests so far in London, although Extinction Rebellion said as many as 1,000 people have volunteered for arrest. In Sydney, 30 people have been arrested, including four protesters under the age of 16, The Guardian reports. Hundreds more were removed from a sit-in blocking a main road, according to the BBC. Another 100 protesters were arrested in Amsterdam. The actions are expected to continue across the US.

The actions were organized by Extinction Rebellion, a movement founded in the UK last year. The group rose to international prominence after nearly shutting down London with its demonstrations in April. The group says its strategy is to use nonviolent civil disobedience “in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse” due to climate change. That strategy included drenching the Treasury in Westminster with fake blood on October 3rd. On October 7th, protesters chained themselves to two cars blocking Westminster’s Victoria Embankment. Video shows police cutting protesters free from the cars.

Organizers expect today’s London protests to draw five times as many people as the ones in April. Demonstrators occupying the Lambeth Bridge practiced yoga. While others were cuffed and taken away, onlookers documented the events on social media. Extinction Rebellion planned to protest in 12 sites around Westminster, each one representing a different cause like “Global Food Justice” and “Peace.” Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, and New York City were also major targets.

Cumulatively, since the Industrial Revolution, the United States has contributed the most planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and remains the second biggest polluter after China. “It’s the Western countries, the European countries, North America that have got us into this mess,” Jonathan Mintram, regional liaison coordinator with Extinction Rebellion in the UK, told The Verge. “And so, personally speaking, I think we have a big responsibility to try and get us out of that.”

In New York City, protesters took aim at the famous Charging Bull statue near Wall Street, dousing it with fake blood. Police arrested the roughly 20 protesters covered in fake blood who staged a “die-in” surrounding the bull as one woman stood atop it waving an Extinction Rebellion flag. More people were arrested in demonstrations on Wall Street and near the New York Stock Exchange.

Maria and Ward Ogden traveled to New York City from their home in Vermont. “We’re down in New York, specifically because we feel that we need to bring the protest to the areas where the power exists,” Ward Ogden told The Verge. “Vermont is a beautiful rural state and I wouldn’t leave it if I had a choice. But I don’t have a choice. I’m here to protest, where it’ll be the most noticeable.”