The Guardian newspaper is reporting the FBI kept files on a number of climate activists connected to the group 350.org. The files date from 2016 when 350.org was helping to organize the Break Free from Fossil Fuels campaign. While names have been redacted, the documents make reference to three peaceful protesters from Iowa who were arrested in Indiana while protesting at a BP refinery. The Guardian also reports the documents make an apparent reference to Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org. In response, McKibben said, “Trying to deal with the greatest crisis humans have stumbled into shouldn’t require being subjected to government surveillance. But when much of our government acts as a subsidiary of the fossil fuel industry, it may be par for the course.” Here at the U.N. climate talks, 350.org executive director May Boeve reacted to the news.
May Boeve: “We’re here in Poland for the climate talks, where a number of activists have been stopped from coming, including many of our members. And today we learn that we’re being spied on in the United States. If this is an attempt to intimidate the climate movement, it’s not working. And the movement is growing all the time.”
Top