UI senior arrested at NYC climate protests

A University of Idaho senior was arrested while joining thousands of people in New York City to demand action on climate change.

Ella Weber was taken into custody Monday for standing arm in arm with other protesters to block the entrance to the Federal Reserve.

This week is New York Climate Week and the Federal Reserve protest was one of several demonstrations.

Weber said she joined tens of thousands of people Sunday in the streets of New York to participate in the March to End Fossil Fuels.

“It was one of the most empowering things I’ve ever been a part of,” Weber said.

Weber said the overarching goal of the protests was to urge President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency and stop funding fossil fuels.

After blocking the Federal Reserve entrance, Weber said she was handcuffed in zip ties for hours while police were processing other protesters. Media reports say more than 100 others were arrested during the demonstration. Weber was put in a jail cell for an hour and a half, Weber said.

A Boise High School graduate, Weber said her passion for climate activism stems from her experience living in Idaho. As someone who grew up enjoying the outdoors, hiking the trails and spending summers on the rivers, she is concerned about the “devastating effects” climate change has had on Idahoans.

People are forced to breathe smoke from wildfires and watch their homes get flooded, she said.

“We need real change right now and it’s time for leaders to stop playing with people’s lives,” she said.

The political science and philosophy major said she was drawn to the New York protests because she wanted to “be part of something bigger.” She wants to show like-minded people in Idaho that they have a large support network of people who want to push leaders to combat climate change.

Weber said she is going to stay in New York during the next few days as the protests coincide with the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit.

The UN website says the summit demonstrates the will to transition “to a more equitable renewable energy-based, climate-resilient global economy.”

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.