Climate change activists will be protesting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night, organizers of the protest announced Friday.
Climate Defiance organizers said they plan to blockade the streets surrounding the Washington Hilton, where President Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks. The protesters are looking to hold Biden accountable for climate promises he made on the campaign trail in 2020, organizers told ABC News.
CLIMATE PROTESTERS SMEAR PAINT ON SCULPTURE DISPLAY CASE AT NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
“We are aware of the planned protest. There are security precautions in place,” WHCA President Tamara Keith told the outlet.
Biden promised to end subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, end drilling on federal land, and end drilling overall during a Democratic presidential debate in March 2020.
“If Biden wants to continue to see the youth support that he had when he got elected, he needs to keep his promises, especially around climate change, because young people know that it’s an existential threat,” Climate Defiance recruitment lead Rylee Haught said. “We know we don’t have time to wait. If he wants to keep young people voting, he better stop extraction on federal lands.”
The group is asking protesters to gather at a Metro station near the Hilton hotel. The owner of the hotel, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, said it supports lawful and peaceful demonstrators.
“Washington Hilton respects all parties’ rights to express their points of view in lawful and non-disruptive manners; however, we are simultaneously committed to protecting our Team Members’ and guests’ safety and security,” a Hilton spokesperson said.
“We will take all necessary steps, in cooperation with local law enforcement officials, to ensure such activities do not interfere with those entering and leaving the hotel,” they added.
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Climate activists have been leading protests in the country’s capital all week. Protesters most recently smeared paint on a sculpture’s display case at the National Gallery of Art on Thursday. Two people smeared black and red paint on the Plexiglas case of Edgar Degas’s “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” sculpture. Both were detained.
The Metropolitan Police Department said it was aware of the planned protest and was monitoring and planning security accordingly.
