Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was chased off stage Tuesday evening by climate change protesters who hijacked the Maryland policy forum at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
A video posted on X by Climate Defense, a youth-led organization opposing the use of fossil fuels, shows chanting demonstrators demanding that Buttigieg address environmental issues.
Breaking: we just chased Secretary Pete Buttigieg off the stage at the Meyerhoff Symphony.
Petro Pete is a coward. As we write he is ramming down our throats the Sea Port and GulfLink oil terminals – each worse than Keystone.
We must resist him with all we’ve got. And we will. pic.twitter.com/aVKeCre5eH
— Climate Defiance (@ClimateDefiance) October 10, 2023
The student activists were heard chanting “Stop Petro Pete” while holding an accompanying sign with the same words in bold, printed letters. They stormed the stage with other chants like “Stop S.P.O.T. and GulfLink,” referring to crude infrastructure and export projects.
“Your DOT just approved the Seaport Oil Terminal, a project that will have 80 coal plants worth of greenhouse gas emissions and will worsen air quality in the areas that are already a living cancer cluster,” one protestor told Buttigieg as he took the stage. “This is about environmental racism and it’s about the climate impacts that this project will have. Will you commit to stopping these projects?”
Buttigieg kept his composure as he was pressed, opting to acknowledge the protesters when asked by the person sitting beside him whether he would “care to address this.” (RELATED: We Finally Figured Out What Pete Buttigieg Did With The Photo He Took Of Our Reporter)
“Yeah, for sure, so, uh, this has to do with uh, uh, a set of, uh,” Buttigieg began. “So, I don’t want to say anything off the cuff, but I respect where you’re coming from.”
Outraged by his response, one climate activist said, “Think about why he said he can’t speak ‘off the cuff’ on climate. Please. We’re ready to. We’re happy to have a conversation with Secretary Pete.”
Dissatisfied demonstrators were shown jumping up and down while chanting, “End fossil fuels!” Crowds pushed and shoved each other while wrestling over the “Stop Petro Pete” poster, and it appeared that security officials attempted to dispel the commotion.