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A group of climate activists are eyeing their next big protest over the summer.
In a statement to group members and supporters, Climate Defiance is calling for a “historic blockade” of the Congressional Baseball Game, an annual competition where Republican and Democratic members of Congress compete in America’s favorite pastime.
“We – society, humanity – are careening into an abyss. The decisions we make now will reverberate not for centuries, but for millennia. If we do not act now, boldly and swiftly, millions will die from storms and from starvation,” Climate Defiance said in an email to supporters.
“So long as Congress torches our planet, we won’t give them a moment of rest. It is unconscionable that they play games while destroying our prospect for a decent future,” Climate Defiance founder Michael Greenberg said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our entire world faces imminent catastrophe. Congress has the power to save millions – even billions – of lives. The fact that they haven’t already ended fossil fuel subsidies is shameful. We’re shutting down the Congressional Baseball Game to send a message: we will do whatever it takes to force those in power to end fossil fuels.”
Climate Defiance is calling for a “historic blockade” of the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 12. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
In the mass email, Greenberg said he organized a similar protest at the Congressional Baseball Game two years ago as “it is unconscionable that they play games as our prospects for a decent future slip out of our grip.”
The protest did not materialize, however, after the U.S. Senate reached a deal on climate spending just ahead of the scheduled event, meeting the group’s interests.
So, Climate Defiance is organizing another attempt to disrupt the game.
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“This March was the warmest on record – the tenth month in a row that was the hottest ever. Our planet is burning, and Congress is playing baseball,” the environmental group said in the email.
Republicans won the 2023 contest 16 to 6. The annual bipartisan game was first played in 1909. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The anticipated protest is targeting members of both parties as “like the Congressional Baseball Game, fossil fuel subsidies are a bipartisan affair,” Climate Defiance told Fox News Digital. It added, “Biden’s 2023 budget plan even proposed cutting tens of billions in tax breaks for fossil fuel companies, but House Democrats themselves fought to keep those subsidies in place.”
“We are not asking you to give money right now. We are not asking you to sign a petition, or call your legislator, or tweet. We are asking you to join us, in person, in a blockade of the Congressional Baseball Game,” the group instructed members. “Shut it down with us.”
On the Climate Defiance website, the group calls for “consistent, mass-turnout, nonviolent disruption to stop business as usual and compel politicians to act.”
“When we engage in direct action — whether through a strike, a blockade, or a mass occupation — we break through,” it continues. “Direct action puts the state in a double-bind: allow the action (and the disruption) to continue or crack down, further driving up public support for the cause.”
On the Climate Defiance website, the group calls for “consistent, mass-turnout, nonviolent disruption.” (AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski )
In the email, the group clarifies, “We’ve never blocked roads (no shade to those who do). We’ve never targeted artwork. What we do, and what we do very well, is take the fight directly to the people in power. We make their lives MISERABLE until they relent.”
“That is exactly what we will do at the Congressional Baseball Game.”
The 2024 Congressional Baseball Game is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 12.
The Congressional Baseball Game was founded and first played in 1909. Republicans won the 2023 contest 16 to 6.
