I was one of 15 elders arrested back in June for sitting in rocking chairs in the street for about a half-hour during a protest in front of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s credit card headquarters in Wilmington. Chase is by far the biggest investor in fossil fuel projects like gas and oil pipelines, Arctic drilling and more. It was the culmination of the Walk for Our Grandchildren and Mother Earth that went from Joe Biden’s birthplace in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to his home in Wilmington, calling on him to take more executive actions to stop and reverse the growth of fossil fuel infrastructure.
In our trial for disorderly conduct that took place in November, Judge Kerry Taylor allowed the 11 pro se (acting without a lawyer) defendants to submit testimony about the climate crisis and the role of banks in funding it.
We pursued a “choice of evils” strategy, which, under Delaware law, allows someone to break the law to prevent a greater “imminent” harm. The prosecutor, who was the arresting officer, kept asking defendants who took the witness stand how their blocking the road prevented “imminent” harm that would justify the inconvenience to motorists who were delayed for a short time. Defendants testified to the drastic “imminent” harms already occurring due to climate change, like the fact that, on the day of the protest, temperatures reached 108 degrees in the Northwest, part of a multiday heat wave that killed 600 humans and a billion sea creatures. One of the grandparents told police her 3-year-old granddaughter lives in Seattle and was in “imminent” danger.
We submitted copies of the Summary for Policymakers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report, published in August, which confirms that it is indisputable that human influence has caused all the warming in the climate system that has occurred since pre-industrial times. We also submitted copies of the 2021 Banking on Climate Chaos report, which shows that JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the biggest funder of fossil fuel projects around the world. Finally, we submitted a document in which the conservative and historically pro-fossil fuels International Energy Agency (IEA) declared that, in order to avoid climate tipping points, funding for and construction of any new fossil fuel projects must cease this year.
Getting this documentation into the record was historic, as judges almost never allow a choice of evils defense — also known as a necessity defense. It was part of our carefully crafted four-prong strategy: presenting the science; presenting an expert witness who talked about the health impacts of the climate crisis; presenting documentation about the role of banks and Chase Bank in particular in funding the crisis; and presenting another expert witness who testified about the success of taking nonviolent direct action in winning climate concessions from a different bank.
However, although the judge allowed defendants to testify on these matters and although, in rendering her verdict, she praised our clear and respectful presentation of evidence, in the end, she chose the narrow definition of “imminent harm” and found us guilty of disorderly conduct and imposed the minimum fine of $25 plus $72 in court costs.
Taking nonviolent action that involves potential risk is one thing people can do — and are doing more and more — to draw attention to the climate emergency and to demand action from our government and business leaders commensurate with the crisis. As older White activists, we did not encounter the kind of violence that law enforcement often visits upon people of color and young people who take such direct action.
Now, the work continues in Wilmington, which is a strategic location to do climate organizing as long as Joe Biden is president. In fact, the movement that we contributed to building by our action in June — as well as a rally and walk from Chase Bank to a park near Biden’s home in late September that included dozens of high school students — is alive and well.
The next action planned is to “Occupy Biden” between the week of Christmas and New Year’s Day. Participants will boldly and peacefully occupy public space near President Biden’s Wilmington neighborhood. The goal of the action is that the president give a gift to the world this holiday season by using his executive powers to declare a climate emergency and stop new fossil fuel projects. This will also be a meaningful and joyful time of activism and organizing, where joining together across all imaginary divisions will be at the forefront. More information can be found here.
Melinda Tuhus of New Haven, Connecticut, is a retired journalist who has been a full-time climate activist for the past five years.
