Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener and Rosanna Arquette Arrested at D.C. Climate Change Protest
On Friday, actor and activist Jane Fonda, 81, was arrested in Washington, D.C., for the fourth consecutive week as part of her ongoing attempt to raise awareness about the peril of global climate change, PEOPLE confirms.
Also arrested were actors Catherine Keener and Rosanna Arquette.
In a statement, a representative from the United States Capitol Police told PEOPLE that 46 individuals were arrested at the protest and charged with Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding.
Unlike Fonda’s prior demonstrations, which took place outside the U.S. Capitol, Friday’s arrests occurred at a sit-in inside the Hart Senate office building.
Friday’s act of civil disobedience — which drew the largest crowd of any of Fonda’s prior protests — was focused on women’s role in the climate crisis.
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Arquette was arrested about 30 minutes into the demonstration, and Keener was arrested soon after. Fonda was arrested a few minutes later.
At an impromptu press conference held from the event, Fonda told the crowd that she was planning to get arrested today and that she’d been given a court date. She noted that she would be protesting in Washington D.C. every Friday until the middle of January.
She also discussed what inspired her to fight for the cause: “There’s many ways to fight … I’m inspired by Greta Thunberg and the young student climate strikers all over the world. … I’m trying to help lift their message and help lift the sense of urgency. I’m a celebrity, so this is a way for me to use my celebrity and get the message out that we’re facing a crisis.”
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“We have 11 years to turn [climate change] around,” Fonda said during the press conference. “We’re going to have to be very brave. We’re going to get arrested much more. We’re going to close down the government if necessary.”
Photos and videos posted to the Fire Drill Fridays Twitter account — Fonda’s initiative to raise awareness about climate change — show videos of Fonda, Keener and Arquette’s arrests, as well as videos of demonstrators chanting “climate justice now” and “women demand a Green New Deal.”
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Before a recent arrest, Fonda spoke out about her current mission and praised the proposed Green New Deal, an ambitious legislative undertaking to address climate change.
“This will be a huge, disruptive, super-ambitious undertaking. And yes, it’s going to cost a whole lot of money. But the cost of inaction is even huger.”
Fonda had announced her intentions to protest a number of weeks ago, telling the Washington Post she had recently relocated to D.C. expressly to become more active on the climate crisis front.
It was not immediately clear if Fonda, Arquette or Keener had an attorney who could comment on the arrests.
