Extinction Rebellion blocks traffic in New York City to make demands of President Biden (commuters are not happy)

We’ve seen lots of this type of “protest” in the UK lately but this morning Extinction Rebellion and the Sunrise Movement shut down traffic in parts of New York City including FDR Drive. Here’s their announcement to commuters:

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If you’re wondering how they got there. It looks like they drove:

This morning’s activity has a more specific goal. They are demanding that President Biden keep the climate change initiatives in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill which is currently being but from $3.5 trillion down to about half that amount.

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They also blocked traffic on the West Side Highway, with protesters linking their arms together inside pipes, which makes it necessary for first responders to carefully cut the pipes before they can arrest people. As you might imagine, commuters stuck behind this blockade were not happy. This guy in the truck apparently revved his engine:

But some people got out of their cars as the XR people were shouting at them through a bullhorn:

This top clip shows two different people who are upset. One guy kicks a few plastic pylons because he’s late for work. Then a black woman comes forward and tells the protesters that her daughter is late for school and she is late for work. She says if she loses her job because of the protest, her daughter’s future could be compromised.

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This clip below shows another angry commuter who has a simple message for the protesters, “F**k you guys!”

Eventually, police cut the pipes off the protesters and arrested them.

NBC 4 in New York says the traffic blockade lasted about an hour:

The groups spread out on opposite sides of the island were able to successfully block entire directions of traffic for roughly an hour.

Police arrested over a dozen on the FDR and at least 15 demonstrators on the West Side Highway. Both protests were cleared out and most traffic had resumed by 11 a.m.

No one got hurt but the more these groups continue with this tactic the more likely it becomes. Already we’ve seen commuters in the UK dragging protesters off the street. Just last week a woman tried to shove Insulate Britain protesters out of the way with her SUV.

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Hopefully the people who shut down traffic in NYC this morning will be prosecuted but with the current bail reform policies in place, they will all be out on bail within a day at could be back to blocking traffic again tomorrow morning. In the UK that’s exactly what they did so don’t be surprised if this NYC protest follows the same pattern. After all, Democrats are trying to wrap up the BBB bill this week so now is the time for protesters to apply maximum pressure.

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