'What Real Eldership Looks Like': 69 Senior Climate Protesters Arrested at CitiBank HQ

The " Summer of Heat on Wall Street" protests continued Tuesday with at least 69 elders arrested while blocking Citibank's New York City headquarters to demand an end to the bank's financing of climate-wrecking fossil fuel projects.

"I'm here for my children and grandchildren," one woman explained as she was led away by a New York Police Department officer, wrists zip-tied behind her back. "I have kids and they need to live a better future!"

She was among several protesters who wore signs hanging from their necks that said "I'm here for:" followed by photos of loved ones.

Bill McKibben, a 350.org co-founder arrested at a related action earlier this summer, welcomed Tuesday's protest on social media. Borrowing a phrase from Hip Hop Caucus' Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., he declared, "Can't stop won't stop!"

"Old and bold!!" he added in response to footage of some arrests, also highlighting Third Act, his group for "Americans over the age of 60 determined to change the world for the better," which organized Tuesday's protest.

The Summer of Heat campaign was initiated by a coalition that includes Climate Defenders, New York Communities for Change, Planet Over Profit, and Stop the Money Pipeline with support from more than 100 environmental and racial justice groups.

"Since the campaign launch on June 10, over 4,000 people have joined protests as part of the Summer of Heat," according to organizers. "And over 500 people have been arrested for engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience protests, urging banks like Citigroup to stop bankrolling new coal, oil, and gas."

Sharing a photo of one protester on social media Tuesday, Stop the Money Pipeline director Alec Connon said that "when I'm older I hope I will be like Pat, who was just arrested for blocking the doors to the headquarters of the world's largest funder of fossil fuel expansion since the Paris agreement. In a time of climate crisis, this is what real eldership looks like."

Tuesday's action in New York—which came as over 60 million people in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast faced heat advisories—followed a July demonstration in which Third Act members led a "funeral procession" near Citigroup's headquarters to honor elders who have died during recent dangerous heatwaves. That protest also led to arrests.

Other Summer of Heat actions targeting Citibank that resulted in arrests have been held by cello-playing grandfather, faith leaders, and mothers who gathered with their children outside bank CEO Jane Fraser's luxury apartment building.

This past weekend, over 30 self-described "climate feminists" were arrested in another demonstration outside Fraser's home, where they chanted: "Methane Jane, you can't hide. We charge you with ecocide."

An annual report released in May showed that in 2023—the hottest year on record—the world's 60 biggest banks committed $705 billion to companies conducting business in fossil fuels, bringing the total since the Paris agreement to $6.9 trillion. Citi's totals were more than $30 billion last year and $396 billion overall.

This post has been updated to clarify when Bill McKibben was arrested and to include additional arrests after publication.