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Activists seek to shut down DC over climate change

Hundreds of activists blocked major intersections across the nation's capital, demanding immediate government action on climate change.

Protesters block traffic near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. A broad coalition of climate and social justice organizations are disrupting the morning rush hour commute. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Protesters block traffic near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. A broad coalition of climate and social justice organizations are disrupting the morning rush hour commute. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)Read morePablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
    by Ashraf Khalil, The Associated Press
    Published 

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of activists blocked major intersections across the nation’s capital Monday, demanding immediate government action on climate change.

Under the banner of ShutDownDC, a broad coalition of activist groups sought to bring the morning traffic in the capital city to a standstill.

At one site about three blocks from the White House, activists parked a yellow and pink sailboat in the middle of the intersection with several protesters handcuffed to the frame.

Washington police have a standing policy to avoid mass arrests of protesters, if possible. And even those protesters who had to be cut free from the sailboat with welding equipment were not arrested.

The Metropolitan Police Department did arrest 26 people who were blocking the entrance to a major tunnel.

    Ashraf Khalil, The Associated Press