Climate activists force Fed chair Jerome Powell off stage in New York

(The Guardian, 19 Oct 2023) On Thursday protesters chanted: ‘Off fossil finance!’ and held a banner reading: ‘Fed Is Burning: Money, Futures, Planet’.

The Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, was escorted out of an event Thursday afternoon after a group of climate protesters briefly took the stage before he was due to give a speech. He took the stage after a 15-minute delay.

At the Economic Club of New York, protesters stormed the stage holding a banner that read “Fed Is Burning: Money, Futures, Planet” and chanting “Off fossil finance!” Powell, who was on stage, briefly left the event before returning to deliver his speech as planned. Security officials cleared protesters from the room.

The protesters were with climate activist group Climate Defiance, which focuses on disruptive direct action through strikes, blockades and mass occupation to raise awareness about fossil fuels.

More than a hundred protesters with the group interrupted the White House Correspondents Dinner in May, blocking multiple entrances and forcing attendees to maneuver through a dense crowd.

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The Guardian, 19 Oct 2023: Climate activists force Fed chair Jerome Powell off stage in New York