WATCH | Kamala Harris heckled, speech interrupted by climate activist amid Hawaii fires

US Vice President Kamala Harris gave a subtle but firm response to angry climate activists who confronted her by criticising the Biden administration's perceived inaction on the climate crisis while speaking in outrage about the scores of individuals who lost their lives in the tragic Hawaii wildfires. The number of deaths in wildfires has reportedly reached 101.

This comes as climate activists in the US are pushing for a national climate change emergency.

A youth-led group named Climate Defiance, which employs direct action to oppose fossil fuels, shared a video on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

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The video claimed that they disrupted Vice President Kamala Harris' speech, and denounced what they termed her involvement in fossil fuel-related "crimes".

“We profoundly disrupted a speech by the United States Vice President Kamala Harris," the climate group said and added, “As we cried out about the tragic deaths in Hawaii and condemned her fossil fuel crimes, Kamala stood there and laughed. Horrendous. We deserve - and we need - actual climate leaders,” the group said.

Harris heckled during speech

During the fundraising event at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in Massachusetts, Harris was interrupted by two climate activists, according to the Vineyard Gazette, media reports said. The incident took place when she was addressing about 400 of her supporters.

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In her speech, she urged her supporters to stand up for civil rights, underscoring her belief that opponents were actively fostering division among Americans.

Climate activists' confrontation

As per the shared video, the climate activist confronted Harris directly about the climate emergency, the tragic deaths in Hawaii, and the displacement caused by climate-related upheavals.

One protestor shouted, “We are in the middle of a climate emergency. Eighty people have died in Hawaii, Thousands have been displaced by the climate chaos. The planet is burning, and people are dying”.

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At this point, Harris can be seen retorting with a firm statement of "I'm speaking," as security personnel removed the advocate from the scene.

The activist voiced concerns about the administration's perceived failure to fulfill climate-related promises and questioned Harris and President Biden's commitment to addressing the climate crisis.

“We were wondering if you would uphold your promises,” the protester said and added,“You and Joe are failing on climate.”

Post-event protests

After the speech, Climate Defiance members gathered outside the same school where the event was happening, brandishing a sign demanding that Harris transition away from fossil fuels. The banner read: “Kamala: Off Fossil Fuels.”

It is worth noting that the attendees of Kamala Harris' closed event were required to contribute to the Biden Victory Fund.Jay Waxse, one of the protestors who traveled from Washington, DC, and paid a minimum fee of $50 to attend, and to put pressure on the administration to cease the approval of oil and gas projects on federal lands.

“Biden positions himself as a climate president ... but it’s a front,” he reportedly said.

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