Climate activists 'choked slammed' and dragged out of speech by their heels during protest
The protesters were filmed jumping on the stage as Secretary Jennifer Granholm was being interviewed on America's energy future.
Climate activists were "choked slammed" and dragged off the stage by their heels after they interrupted the Energy Secretary's being interviewed at a private event.
The protesters, who were identified as members of the group Climate Defiance, sparked a "peaceful mutiny" as Jennifer Granholm delivered a speech on Friday.
Climate Defiance warned the reaction to their demonstration would not stop them to speak out and warned they would keep "coming back."
They said: "We sparked a peaceful mutiny at a speech by US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
"They choked us and body slammed us and put us in grave danger. But we will keep coming back. They can brutalize our bodies. They cannot brutalize our ideas."
Protesters just disrupted Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaking at the Politico Energy Summit, rushing towards an on-stage conversation happening in DC. Several climate activists chanted “No MVP, no LNG, Granholm you are killing me” and were quickly removed from the event pic.twitter.com/k2qbo7TYyH
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) May 18, 2023
Footage of the incident shows two security guards approaching the stage after one of the demonstrators sat on it and appeared to try to lie down.
The two men grabbed him by the shoulders and heels, sliding him off the stage before he dropped off onto the ground.
As they tried to move the first protestor off, another man wearing khaki trousers and a shirt can be seen making an attempt to run on stage but is interrupted.
One of the security guards, having spotted the second man, dropped the legs of the first protester and swiftly grabbed the second man's heels – causing him to fall on his face.
Throughout the incident, other demonstrators in the room could be heard chanting: "No MVP, no LNG, Granholm you are killing me”
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Granholm had just finished defending her support for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a natural gas project that has been fiercely opposed by environmentalists.
The Energy Secretary backed the project in a recent letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, insisting the project is needed to protect US energy security.
She also argued the pipeline is a pivotal piece in the country's strategy to transition to a zero-emission power system.
Granholm said: "We know that there is a real desire to have energy security in areas where there’s huge demand for power.
“We also know that we have got to accelerate investment in clean energy."
She also addressed the protestors, conceding the Biden Administration has been left facing "hard decisions" to secure America's energy future.
The Energy Secretary said: "To the point of the protesters here, these are really hard decisions.
“We are in this transition. We want to be able to ensure that our allies can turn on the lights.”
She added: "Everybody recognizes we’re in this interim period that we do not want to be in for long."
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