A climate protester was hospitalized with facial injuries on Wednesday after being punched by a security guard at Citibank headquarters in New York. Common dreams information.
The incident occurred when activists from the Summer of Heat campaign were gathered in the bank’s lobby.
Eren Can Illeri, the injured protester, was part of the protest demanding a meeting with Citibank executives to address the bank’s continued investment in fossil fuels.
Summer of Heat, a coalition backed by New York Communities for Change, Planet Over Profit and Stop the Money Pipeline, has made Citibank a prime target this summer.
Since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, Citibank has invested $396.3 billion in coal, gas and oil infrastructure projects.
A climate protester was hospitalized with facial injuries on Wednesday after being punched by a security guard at Citibank headquarters in New York, according to protest organizers.
Eren Can Illeri (pictured), the injured protester, was part of the protest demanding a meeting with Citibank executives to address the bank’s continued investment in fossil fuels.
“We have been asking Citi for weeks to meet with us to discuss what it can do to address the climate emergency,” Alicé Nascimento, a spokesperson for Summer of Heat, told AFP. Common dreams“But instead of meeting with us, they have sent their security guards to physically attack peaceful climate activists after weeks of intimidation and threats.”
Video footage of the incident shows Illeri filming with his phone when a security guard approached him and attempted to grab the device.
The guard then punched Illeri in the face and pushed him to the ground.
“Citi is endorsing violence and that’s disgusting,” said Alice Hu, a climate activist with New York Communities for Change, who said the violence at the company’s headquarters is a direct reflection of “fossil fuel violence and climate chaos.”
Pictured: A coalition of immigrant communities and climate activists protest outside Citigroup headquarters. The activists, some of whom are members of Extinction Rebellion and the Sunrise Movement, took part in the protest focused on immigrant communities affected by the bank’s financial backing of fossil fuel industries.
Since its launch on June 10, Verano de Calor has mobilized more than 4,000 people in protests against Citibank.
More than 475 people have been arrested, including an elderly cello player last week, in connection with the protests.
Protesters also reported being pushed by a senior Citibank lawyer last month.
“Citi continues to demonstrate that its business of violence is rooted in violent people,” said Planet Over Profit. “This cannot continue.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Citibank for comment.