Updated 4:36 p.m.
Climate protesters interrupted Gov. Phil Scott’s State of the State address on Thursday afternoon, prompting a recess in the House chambers as capitol police detained 16 people.
The protesters sat quietly during the first several minutes of the governor’s speech before standing and loudly chanting for action against the threat of climate change.
“We demand a people’s assembly needed to achieve a just transition,” they yelled — interspersing a refrain of “listen to the people” — “because we are unable to trust the government to do so!”
Scott waited while the demonstrators chanted for several minutes. He then returned to the microphone and tried to speak. The protesters were not finished, however, and resumed their chants.
Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman then called for the protesters to quiet down, and when they refused, he called a recess. Police then began escorting the demonstrators out of the chamber, and Scott delivered his address to the legislature.
The protest followed another climate demonstration outside the Statehouse on Thursday morning.
Vermont State Police spokesman Adam Silverman said that agency assisted Capitol Police Department officers and county sheriff’s departments in the House chamber. One person, Henry Harris, 41, of Peacham, was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct. He was due in court in Barre on a future date.
The others were released and given verbal no-trespass orders, Capitol Police Chief Matthew Romei said, meaning simply that they were ordered from the Statehouse for the day. Police simply took the minimum steps necessary to restore order, he said.
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I thought that the protesters were well organized, articulate and quite effective. They got their point across and did it well. I also thought the Governor was patient, listened, heard them, and was gracious in his request that they now listen to him. Well done by all.
“”We demand a people’s assembly needed to achieve a just transition,” they yelled — interspersing a refrain of “listen to the people” —
We live in a democracy and have an elected government. The fact you don’t get the overwhelming support and freedom to run ragged on everyone’s individual rights does not indicate a problem with Democracy. It indicates your methods are not working and you are alienating voters. The answer is not “take the decision away from voters and give it to us”, it’s examine what you are doing and why it only serves to anger people.
Im a little surprised that the climate activists haven’t realized that their outbursts are having the opposite effect on many people. And myself, someone who doesn’t support any iteration of a carbon tax, I’m grateful to the protesters for souring so many Vermonters On the idea of carbon pricing.
Thank you
Thank you to the protesters for making their point. We have 8 years to turn our carbon emissions around in a serious way. It will take some people disrupting the normal flow of things to get the governor and legislature to change their course quickly in a serious way.
I can’t blame the kids doing the protesting here. They will be the ones who will be suffering from the piggishness of the current leadership at local, state, and national levels.
George Carlin was correct when he said “It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it”.
The fantasy of unlimited consumption and never ending corporate profits can only be sustained by the depraved indifference of the gluttons who deny the science of Climate Change.
It’s pretty amazing how people complain that protesters’ actions alienate the people in power and turns them away from supporting their point of view. If that’s the case they need to go back every day the legislature is in session because these people are clueless. At least they didn’t start screaming USA! to drown out the protesters. Progress!