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WATCH: Green New Deal Protestors Storm Mitch McConnell's Office

Beth Baumann
Beth Baumann  |  February 25, 2019 11:40 PM

More than 100 progressive protestors were arrested after storming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) office, demanding he support the Green New Deal. 

The protest comes after McConnell has said the Senate will vote on the proposal. The vote is being seen as a way of getting Democrats to decide where they stand on the issue, while most Republicans oppose the ambiguous proposal championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Protestors held various signs and wore shirts with sayings like, "Mitch, Look us in the eyes" and "Oil and Gay Money or Save Our Lives." 

"We wanted to deliver 100,000 signatures from across the country (from) people that support Ocasio and Markey's Green New Deal," 17-year-old Destine Grigsby of Louisville, Kentucky told staff in McConnell's office, according to a CNN report. "We also wanted to ask if we could deliver some stories to him, if we could ... tell him why were here and why we support the Green New Deal."

The protest was put together by the Sunrise Movement, whose mission is to "build an army of young people to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process."

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According to the group's website, the protestors who marched on McConnell's office are from Kentucky:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced he’s rushing the Green New Deal resolution to a vote in the Senate as early as next week. He's wagering that this will kill our momentum.

On Monday Feb 25, young people from Kentucky – McConnell's home state – are planning to confront him in DC. We will join them to ask Mitch McConnell to look us in the eyes and tell us why he’s putting his oil and gas donors above our generations’ survival.

We’re putting all Senators on notice: if you stand with Mitch McConnell and his billionaire friends, instead of standing for the our generation’s future, we’ll remember that when next time you want our votes.

Here's a look at what unfolded:

Before arresting protestors, Capitol Hill police told them to roll up their signs and made them aware that it is unlawful to protest inside of a Congressional office building. But that didn't deter them.

Even as they were being walked out in handcuffs, protestors continued to sing in solidarity with other protestors lined along the walls of the Congressional building.

After the ordeal was over, the Sunrise Movement took to Twitter to critique McConnell's statement on the issue:

The Sunrise Movement has also taken aim at Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).