Arrested: Captain Planet and a polar bear
Yes, Captain Planet and a polar bear were arrested in New York during a demonstration to denounce Wall Street's contribution to climate change early on Tuesday morning (Sept 23, Singapore time)
Well, to be more accurate, the New York Police Department arrested two people dressed up as Captain Planet and another in a polar bear costume during the demonstration.
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Police arresting the polar bear. Photo: Twitter screengrab/@benjaminnorton
And the two Captain Planets. Photo: Twitter screengrab: @willdizard
These three, together with 100 other protesters, were arrested by the police during a demonstration on Monday that at one point blocked the streets near the famous stock exchange.
Called the "Flood Wall Street" demonstration, it came after 310,000 people flooded the streets of New York on Sunday in the People’s Climate March, which was touted as the single largest environmental rally in history. .
While this protest only attracted "hundreds" of protesters according to Reuters, it did manage to stop traffic along Broadway.
Police later broke up the gathering, ordering remaining protesters to disband.
A core group of a few dozen activists, however, decided to staged a sit-in just steps away from Wall Street and police officers then handcuffed and walked them away one-by-one
People on social media expressed their outrage over the arrest of the cartoon superhero and an endangered animal.
Flood Wall Street organisers said that they hope their actions will draw a link between economic policies and the environment, accusing top financial institutions of “exploiting front-line communities, workers and natural resources” for financial gain.
The event is part of Climate Week, which seeks to draw attention to carbon emissions and their link to global warming, and it comes ahead of the UN Climate Summit.
Source: Reuter, Twitter
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