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A total of 138 “Green New Deal” activists were arrested Monday for “unlawfully demonstrating” in congressional buildings. According to the United States Capitol Police, they were all charged with “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding.” VICE News reports that 61 high schoolers who were taking part in the climate-change protest were arrested in front of the office of Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Others were arrested while demonstrating outside the office of Steny Hoyer (D-MD). The Sunrise Movement, which organized Monday’s sit-ins, told the website that over 1,000 “youth protesters” from all over the U.S. went to the offices of Democratic lawmakers “in support of Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s select committee for a Green New Deal.” The Green New Deal would reportedly invest in “green infrastructure and jobs” in an effort to “decarbonize the U.S. economy.”
According to VICE News, Pelosi’s office offered to meet with the protesters at a later date after the sit-in ended. A spokesperson for Pelosi later said addressing climate change was a “top priority” for her office. “She has proposed reinstating the select committee on climate and looks forward to caucus-wide discussions with the committees of jurisdiction to determine the appropriate path forward,” spokesperson Taylor Griffin reportedly said.