Environmental Activists Say the FBI May Be Investigating Them

"The group in the Brooklyn studio seemed harmless. There was a graduate student, a Yiddish teacher, a hairdresser. Fifteen people had gathered on a Wednesday night for a training offered by Extinction Rebellion NYC and Climate Defiance, two climate activist groups that engage in nonviolent civil disobedience and theatrical protest. They sat in metal folding chairs eating pizza, surrounded by banners and art supplies, discussing how to gain a crowd's attention without prompting immediate boos."

"Yet their actions have apparently drawn the attention of federal counterterror investigators. Last month, an FBI agent arrived at the door of a former member, who was not at the Brooklyn meeting, saying she had questions about Extinction Rebellion. Environmental activists have long drawn scrutiny from the FBI. But the recent visit appeared to place this group on the leading edge of the Trump administration's use of law enforcement against what many civil liberties advocates say are constitutionally protected acts of protest and free speech."

"After last year's killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump issued a national security memorandum titled 'Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.' The memo asserted that the killing and other attacks, such as the attempted assassination of Trump and the slaying of a health care executive in 2024, were 'a culmination of sophisticated, organized campaigns' designed to intimidate and influence public policy."

Climate activist groups Extinction Rebellion NYC and Climate Defiance, which employ nonviolent civil disobedience and theatrical protest tactics, have attracted attention from federal counterterror investigators. A training session in Brooklyn included diverse participants discussing protest strategies. An FBI agent recently visited a former member with questions about Extinction Rebellion, marking an apparent escalation in federal scrutiny of environmental activists. This development reflects the Trump administration's broader use of law enforcement against protest activities. The administration issued a national security memorandum on countering domestic terrorism following various violent incidents, framing certain attacks as part of organized campaigns to influence policy.

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