XR activists use HAMMERS & CHISELS to break glass at JP Morgan offices during fossil-fuel protest in London (VIDEO)

Several members of Extinction Rebellion deployed pink hammers and chisels to punch holes right through the glass front of investment bank JP Morgan’s offices in London’s financial district, to protest its funding of fossil fuels.

Reuters footage from the scene showed the climate activists – one with “stop the harm” written on her back – jump over a fence and begin hitting the glass doors and windows of the financial services giant’s offices in the UK capital. A security guard stands nearby, speaking urgently into a phone, as at least four activists repeatedly pound the glass.   

The group said it was targeting JP Morgan, Barclays and HSBC in its protests on Wednesday to highlight the financial institutions’ roles in “funding and accelerating the climate and ecological emergency” by investing billions of dollars in fossil fuels. 

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that its officers had arrested eight people “after a group of activists smashed windows at a commercial premises on Victoria Embankment.” 

Wednesday’s incident is the latest in an ongoing series of London protests being staged by the group, which said it would hold a fortnight of demonstrations starting on August 21. 

Just days earlier, members of the group were filmed being escorted off the city’s Tower Bridge by police, after blocking traffic across the iconic structure for hours. In a separate incident on Monday, police and XR activists scuffled as the group attempted to erect a high wooden structure close to the French Consulate and London’s Science Museum, in an effort to block a busy junction. 

If you like this story, share it with a friend!