A small group of protesters interrupted Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s scheduled speech at the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday in a bid to draw attention to the climate crisis. A handful of protesters stormed the stage while Powell was being introduced, holding banners that read “Fed is burning: money, futures, planet” and chanting “Stop fossil finance.”
The lights were dimmed after the protesters reached the stage and security worked to remove them from the building. Powell took the stage after a roughly eight-minute delay at about 12:15 p.m., and spoke about the state of the U.S. economy. It wasn’t clear if the protestors were able to speak to Powell.
The group responsible, Climate Defiance, describes itself as dedicated to ending fossil fuel extraction through “peaceful direct action” rather than petitions. Its members have been involved in a string of protests in recent months. Earlier this month, they protested speeches by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, objecting to his role approving oil export terminals, and Helima Croft, a National Petroleum Council member who spoke at an event at Harvard.