Climate change protesters tussled with police, were wrestled to the floor and carried out of the stadium on Thursday after attempting to disrupt the annual Congressional baseball game in Washington DC.
Some of the activists managed to enter the Nationals Park stadium, and unfurl banners.
Outside, at least three people were arrested as the annual game between Democrat and Republican lawmakers unfolded, with the GOP winning 10-0.
One man rushed officers, and was swarmed on and pushed to the ground.
Another pair of demonstrators tried to get in to the venue, but were marched backwards, smirking, by a burly security officer. When they tried to walk past the Metropolitan Police officer, he shoved one of them hard, causing him to fall backwards. Still trying to enter the area, he was surrounded by police who shepherded him away.
A blond woman was seen being carried by her arms and legs from the scene, while another activist stood nearby, zip ties on his wrists.
One climate change activist is seen on Thursday being wrestled to the floor outside Nationals Park
The man had tussled with police before he was swarmed by officers
A group called Now Or Never claimed that they were behind the demonstration.
‘Tonight we converged on the Congressional Baseball Game,’ they tweeted.
‘We are living through a climate emergency. Yosemite is on fire. An ice shelf the size of NYC just broke off of Antarctica. We’re dying by the million from pollution.
‘Congress must seal the deal. It’s time.’
They added: ‘Baseball can wait. The climate cannot.’
The group said they want Joe Biden to declare a ‘climate emergency’, and Congress to spend billions on clean energy.
‘We are deeply offended that our elected leaders continue to play games in the face of our impending doom,’ said Michael Steffes, a spokesperson for the group.
‘Our congresspeople are choosing to play ball while the world burns around them. Unless they treat this as a climate emergency and take immediate climate action, we are doomed to climate hell.’
Another man repeatedly attempted to enter the grounds, and was ultimately pushed backwards until he fell over
The man tumbled to the ground, but then got back up again and tried once more to shove his way past the police officer
His friend held him back as he confronted the officer
Other officers then arrived to assist, and a large group pushed the combative man away
The group said they were angry at politicians ‘wasting the world’s time with their indefensible antics,’ and said evidence of the scale of the problem was all around.
‘St Louis is underwater, California is on fire, Lake Mead is running dry, the country’s glaciers are melting, and drought is hammering the midwest, stretching the country’s ability to cope with the growing number of people whose lives have been upended by the crisis,’ they said.
‘The one time that they come together in agreement is to play a literal game.
‘Unless the United States government takes immediate & drastic climate action, they are sentencing billions of people to an unlivable future on a dead planet.’
The Congressional baseball game is described as an annual, bipartisan event that has taken place since 1909.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) celebrate after the Congressional Baseball Game
Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) is seen during the Congressional Baseball Game
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) pitches on Thursday night
Thursday night’s game was won 10-0 by the Republicans – a repeat of last year’s victory for the GOP, which won 13-12.
The game was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the three previous years all saw the Democrats emerge victorious.
On Thursday, Joni Ernst of Iowa was the only senator playing for the Republicans, alongside 33 representatives.
The Democrats fielded Senators Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Chris Murphy of Connecticut with 23 representatives.