Pipeline protesters participated in a demonstration in Washington, D.C., on Thursday where several activists used bike locks to chain their necks to poles in front of the White House, calling on President Biden to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Activists took turns speaking, urging the 78-year-old commander in chief to stop what they described as “climate-destroying projects,” which they said hurts indigenous people and “Mother Earth.”
“We have been given another opportunity to protect our water and respect the rights of indigenous people and Mother Earth,” one activist said as others held signs reading “No Prisons, No Pipelines.” Protesters also marched a black “snake,” which some said represented the Dakota Access Pipeline, to the White House, only to “slay” it with sticks and perform a triumphant “victory dance.”
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At one point during the protest, several activists used bike locks to chain themselves to poles in front of the White House as well.
Other participants in Thursday’s protest staged a “die-in,” which served as a representation “of all the people whose lives have been cut short due to COVID-19 and also fossil fuels.” One protester, laying on the ground, held a sign reading, “The American Dream is GENOCIDE.”
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Others called on Biden to take action and “be the climate president you claim to be.”