Environmentalists block George Washington Parkway over Alaska oil drilling

Environmentalist protesters shut down part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Northern Virginia during Wednesday morning’s commute.

Declare Emergency arrived on the northbound lanes of the G.W. Parkway near Spout Run Parkway at around 8:15 a.m.

At around 8:43 a.m., the group posted a photo of the protesters, along with police responders, on Twitter. The caption explained that the group “disrupts the status quo for a livable future.”

The group also posted a video of activists walking into the road.

The northbound lanes of the traffic artery, which hugs the Potomac River between the Pentagon and the Capital Beltway, was shut down between Spout Run Parkway and Chain Bridge Road for about an hour.

By 9:21 a.m., the protest blockage had been cleared by the U.S. Park Police.

Law enforcement arrested three protesters and has charged them with disorderly conduct, but did not immediately release any identifying details about the suspects.

#DeclareEmergency supporters step out onto the #gwparkway to demand climate action. This is nonviolent #civildisobedience, this is done out of love for our fellow humans and our collective future. #A22Network #stopwillow #ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/gwqOsheFwN

— Declare Emergency (@DecEmergency) April 26, 2023

The group posted a video on Instagram of three members kneeling on the road, “doing what we gotta do,” according to the cameraman-narrator, as commuters honked horns.

One activist laughed that the car at the front was an electric-powered Tesla. Two people come up to talk to the demonstrators, one saying in frustration that people had places to go.

Like other environmental activist groups doing disruptive protests worldwide, Declare Emergency wants an immediate ban on further exploration and use of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.

Signs carried by protesters mentioned the ConocoPhillips Willow oil-dolling project in Alaska, which has been approved by the Biden administration.

The group’s name refers to a core demand — that President Biden officially declare a “climate emergency,” which would give the federal government massive powers to implement such actions.

“President Joe Biden has failed to keep many of his promises to take action on climate change … activists are sending a message to President Biden, reminding him of the urgency of the climate crisis,” Declare Emergency wrote in a statement.