Why Extinction Rebellion Is Occupying a NYC Park

Hundreds of climate protesters around the world were arrested Monday, kicking off Extinction Rebellion’s “International Rebellion,” two weeks of direct action and civil disobedience protests in 60 countries.  In London, protesters blocked all major roads around the Houses of Parliament, including Westminster Bridge, while hundreds more occupied Trafalgar Square.  In Argentina, activists in hazmat suits and blood-red cloaks with white face paint called the “red brigade” occupied a Bayer-Monsanto office in Buenos Aires.  And in the Netherlands more than 100 people were arrested for trying to set up a tent city in a major tourism area.

In New York City protesters staged a “die-in” in the middle of Wall Street in downtown Manhattan on Monday morning as part of what they called a “funeral procession for the earth.”  Two famous statues, Charging Bull and Fearless Girl, dripped with fake blood that the activists had splattered all over their fellow protesters and the cobblestone streets.  (The group cleaned up all the blood after the action ended.)  Around 60 people were arrested.

Extinction Rebellion, a decentralized, non-hierarchical environmental action group born in the U.K., is different from Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement in a few notable ways.  For one thing, the group is made up of people of all ages, not just youth.  For another, the group’s main strategies are civil disobedience and other non-violent disruption techniques.  The youth climate strikes, by contrast, are generally cleared with local governments and permitted ahead of time.  This means Extinction Rebellion protesters are more likely to get arrested for things like trespassing and marching without a permit.

After the die-in on Monday, the NYC Extinction Rebellion group set up more than half a dozen tables and booths in Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park, where they’re planning a weeklong occupation dubbed “RebelFest.”  Pro-environment musicians and guerilla theater troupes performed and activists delivered speeches.  The group’s camp included a food pantry, an art table, and a wellness area, though they didn’t have the city’s permission to table in the park.

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