Extinction Rebellion protesters confront politicians at US Capitol | Environment

Protesters from the climate crisis group Extinction Rebellion are causing disruption at the US Capitol in Washington, confronting politicians and glueing themselves to doorways in order to block them.

Six protesters blocked two doorways connecting the Cannon building to the US Capitol in an attempt to stop members of Congress from attending an evening vote.

In three pairs, they used Gorilla Glue to stick their hands to the doors and each other. They also wore yellow hazard signs that said, “Declare climate emergency” or “Closed. We’re sorry. Due to the climate emergency Congress is shut down until sufficient action is taken to address the crisis.”

“I’ve always wanted to have children. Three weeks ago I broke down my car because I realised I can’t bring a child into this world.”

Kaela Bamberger, a spokesperson for the group, which has staged attention-grabbing events elsewhere in the US and abroad, said a House and Senate concurrent resolution on the climate emergency – currently on hold – deserves immediate attention. Extinction Rebellion’s intention is to disrupt “business as usual” she added.

“We believe the issue is so urgent it should be treated as a top priority,” she added. “Petitioning and lobbying have been shown to be ineffective in the past, so we are taking extreme action to reflect the extreme nature of the crisis. The climate emergency should be treated with the gravity it deserves.

“The legislative process has failed on the issue. We’re using nonviolent civil disobedience to combat complacency in Congress.”

More details to follow…