Climate activists disrupted an event at Harvard University featuring Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), with the lawmaker standing up to confront a protester who called him a “sick fuck,” according to a video of the encounter posted online by the environmental group Climate Defiance.
The protester, who was then shoved off his feet and through a doorway by an apparent member of Manchin’s security detail, was joined in the room by several others who took issue with how Manchin facilitated the ongoing construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The natural gas pipeline, first proposed in 2014, is expected to run through Manchin’s home state and into southern Virginia, cutting through the Appalachian Trail. Several environmental groups, including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Natural Resources Defense Council, have opposed it, citing the potential for soil erosion, landslides, gas leaks and lessened water quality, as well as general scenic damage and the effect of fossil fuels on climate change, among other reasons.
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