Jane Fonda Was Arrested at a Climate Change Protest in DC & These Are All the Best Tweets About It

Louisa Ballhaus

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On Friday, actress and activist Jane Fonda spoke at the October 11 meeting of Fire Drill Fridays, a weekly “digital teach-in” addressing the ongoing climate emergency at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter, Fonda was arrested at the climate change protest, and Twitter has been going wild with their support for the Grace and Frankie star.

The official Fire Drill Fridays account posted a brief clip of Fonda speaking on the Capitol steps, joined by climate activists Keya Chatterjee and Jerome Foster II. “We make personal choices like driving an electric car or going vegan, recycling, and we think that that’s enough,” Fonda declared on the steps. “But this is a collective crisis that demands collective action, now.” The onlookers cheered their approval.

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Fonda had previously announced her intention to move to DC and take part in the weekly Fire Drill Fridays with a video: “Inspired by the young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and the student strikers, I decided to upend my life and move to Washington D.C. for four months to focus on climate change,” the 81-year-old announced.

“As Greta said, ‘This is a crisis. We have to act like our house is on fire, because it is.’ So starting Thursday, October 17th, join me for a digital teach-in at 7 pm. And if you’re near Washington D.C., come to our Fire Drill Fridays, starting October 11th at the Capitol at 11 am,” Fonda said. That’s an open invitation, by the way — so feel free to join her next Friday, or the one after that.

Many on Twitter are cheering on Fonda’s tenacity and commitment, and holding her up as a prime example that we can all do more as individuals to help combat climate change. “Jane Fonda still out there getting arrested at 82 years old. Power to the people,” one user writes. [Editor’s note: She’s 81, but who’s counting?] Another reflects on Fonda’s history of activism: “Jane Fonda was arrested today at a Climate protest in DC. She has ALWAYS been on the right side of history, particularly re the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Stop saying it’s a ‘generational thing’ – shes 81. We don’t deserve her.”

The moral of the story is that Jane Fonda is a national treasure, and we should all strive to be a bit more like her. Also, while we imagine she’s all set on bail money, she does have a couple thousand volunteers on Twitter ready to help her out.

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