Climate activists placed banners on overpasses throughout the D.C. area early Monday morning.
Shut Down DC, a network of local activists advocating for urgent action to mitigate climate change and fossil fuel use, said on their website they would “hang banners over the sides of overpasses at a number of well-traveled locations so they will be visible to commuters during morning rush hour.”
“Our idea is to do it all over major roadways and NoVA and Maryland as well as all around D.C. We have a lot of banners. Last time I saw, it was over a hundred yards of rolled fabric so it’s going to be quite a bit,” activist Travis Fried told WTOP news partner NBC Washington.
“We need people to recognize that this is happening and that this is the truth. It’s not something you can hide,” activist Jesse Bogdan said.
Shut Down DC shared images on their Twitter feed of two banners they had placed over the I-395/Southwest Freeway eastbound around 7 a.m. Monday. They read “climate emergency, no time left for business as usual,” along with a link to their website.
More #ClimateBanners going up over the parkway. It’s a #ClimateEmergency pic.twitter.com/xQm0wmXVNs
— Shut Down DC (@ShutDown_DC) January 13, 2020
7th st overpass over the beltway. It’s a #ClimateEmergency #ClimateBanners pic.twitter.com/PcjAzDqRaL
— Shut Down DC (@ShutDown_DC) January 13, 2020
“If you thought shutting down D.C. was a big deal, then wait for the spring,” the group later said on Twitter. “Prepare for the biggest act of climate civil disobedience in American history.”
Activists with the organization blocked major D.C. intersections during morning rush in September and December of last year.
WTOP’s Alejandro Alvarez contributed to this report.
