Jane Fonda Arrested During D.C. Climate Change Protest
Academy Award-winning actress Jane Fonda was arrested at a protest against climate change in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fonda “was protesting with the group Oil Change International over the climate crisis,” and was among those arrested and charged with “crowding, obstructing or incommoding.”
Her arrest was caught on camera.
In a statement, a Capitol Police spokesman told the Hollywood Reporter, “Today, the United States Capitol Police arrested 16 individuals for unlawfully demonstrating on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol.”
On her blog, Fonda cited climate change awareness activist Greta Thunberg as an inspiration for protesting.
“Inspired by Greta and the youth climate strikes as well as Reverend Barber’s Moral Mondays and Randall Robinson’s often daily anti-apartheid protests, I’ve moved to Washington, D.C. to be closer to the epicenter of the fight for our climate,” she proclaimed. “Every Friday through January, I will be leading weekly demonstrations on Capitol Hill to demand that action by our political leaders be taken to address the climate emergency we are in. We can’t afford to wait.”
“I will be on the Capitol every Friday, rain or shine, inspired and emboldened by the incredible movement our youth have created,” Fonda wrote, adding, “I can no longer stand by and let our elected officials ignore – and even worse – empower – the industries that are destroying our planet for profit. We can not continue to stand for this.”
Fonda also listed five demands, which included, “A Green New Deal,” “Respect of indigenous land and sovereignty,” “Environmental justice,” “Protection and restoration of biodiversity,” and “Implementation of sustainable agriculture.”
