{"id":1790117,"date":"2026-02-24T12:38:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T09:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1790117"},"modified":"2026-02-24T12:38:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T09:38:00","slug":"why-is-the-us-government-coming-for-young-climate-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1790117","title":{"rendered":"Why is the US government coming for young climate activists?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/0-0-2596-1731\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438557.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/life-culture\/article\/69731\/1\/us-crackdown-youth-climate-activists-protest-extinction-rebellion-xr-trump\" data-article-id=\"69731\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.55\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Niklas Halle&#039;n\/AFP\/Getty Images\" class=\"img\" height=\"1731\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1400\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438557.jpg\" width=\"2684\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">Niklas Halle&#8217;n\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-02-24T12:38:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"24 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"24\">24,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - life-culture\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\">Life &amp; Culture<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\">Life &amp; Culture<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>Why is the US government coming for young <span class=\"nowrap\">climate activists?<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>A former member of Extinction Rebellion was visited by the FBI this month. We speak to him and two current members of XR about what it means to be a climate activist in <span class=\"nowrap\">Trump\u2019s America<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-24T12:38:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"24 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"24\">24,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-24T12:38:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"24 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"24\">24,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/laurapitcher\">Laura Pitcher<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>In January, a previous member of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/extinction-rebellion\">Extinction Rebellion<\/a>, who is staying anonymous, picked up a call from someone who said they were a \u201cspecial agent with the FBI\u201d. As many people would, he assumed it was a scam caller. \u201cI said, \u2018No, you\u2019re a fraud\u2019 and hung up,\u201d he tells Dazed. A few minutes later, he got a text, also apparently from the FBI, stating that they were at one of his old addresses and wanted to ask him some questions. \u201cWhen I saw that text, I was even more convinced that it was a scam, so I completely put it out of my head and forgot about it,\u201d he says. \u201cSo it was a surprise to me when they showed up while I was finishing breakfast.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On a recent Friday in February, the former climate activist claims he was visited at home by a woman, accompanied by a man, who identified herself as a counterterrorism agent with the FBI. They told him he was not in any trouble, but they did want to ask some questions about Extinction Rebellion, a protest movement using nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act on climate change. His mind went blank. He told the FBI agents he wouldn\u2019t speak with them. After the two agents left, he called his lawyer, Ronald L. Kuby, who represents several climate activists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI was in a state of shock for the first couple of days,\u201d he says. \u201cThen, I thought about it more, and I feel like this is just the price of being a decent human being [in America] right now.\u201d He had been involved in prominent New York actions in the past, but is no longer active with XR and no longer even lives in New York. The group has also said that in March 2025, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/feb\/18\/extinction-rebellion-fbi-trump-environment\"><span>agents identifying themselves as part of the FBI attempted to speak with six different activists<\/span><\/a><span> affiliated with Extinction Rebellion Boston.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Members of Extinction Rebellion have been known for their theatrical and crowd-pulling protests around the world. Everyone from activist Greta Thunberg to actor Michael Hall has previously attended XR actions. In New York, this has included <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/10\/07\/nyregion\/extinction-rebellion-nyc-protest.html\"><span>lying in pools of fake blood outside the New York Stock Exchange<\/span><\/a><span> to call attention to people killed by climate-related disasters and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2023\/apr\/25\/climate-protest-citibank-banks-fossil-fuel-funding\"><span>chanting along to the music of a mariachi band outside a Citibank office<\/span><\/a><span> to call out US banks for funding fossil fuel projects. The non-violent actions, while sometimes disruptive, should hardly make them a target for the FBI\u2019s counterterrorism unit under a working democracy, where protests are protected. Unfortunately, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/politics\/479924\/democracy-us-brazil-south-korea-poland-backsliding-resilience\"><span>many political experts believe the US is in the midst of a democratic backsliding<\/span><\/a><span>. We\u2019ve seen this as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/17\/us-immigration-judge-rejects-trump-bid-to-deport-columbia-student-mahdawi\"><span>students face deportation proceedings<\/span><\/a><span> for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Trump administration, which is currently working to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/19\/advocacy-groups-sue-trump-administration-over-endangerment-findings-repeal\"><span>roll back environmental protections in the country<\/span><\/a><span>, is casting a wide net to clamp down on protesters, including youth climate activists. In 2020, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2020\/jan\/13\/us-listed-climate-activist-group-extremists\"><span>documents obtained by the<em> Guardian <\/em>revealed<\/span><\/a><span> that members of Climate Direct Action engaged in non-violent civil disobedience targeting the oil industry were listed in internal Department of Homeland Security documents as \u201cextremists\u201d. Today, partaking in \u201cdomestic terrorism\u201d, as defined by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/09\/countering-domestic-terrorism-and-organized-political-violence\/\"><span>memorandum<\/span><\/a><span> President Trump released after the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, can currently mean anything to do with anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism and \u201cextremism on migration, race, and gender\u201d. It\u2019s an intentionally vague strategy aiming to \u201cdisband and uproot networks, entities, and organisations\u201d, which could include any number of intersectional youth climate activists, whose beliefs may involve <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xrebellion.nyc\/events\/our-city-our-fight-protect-migrants-protect-the-planet\"><span>protecting migrants<\/span><\/a><span> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jun\/18\/sunrise-movement-big-oil-climate-bills\"><span>ending the oligarchy<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cI was in a state of shock for the first couple of days. Then, I thought about it more, and I feel like this is just the price of being a decent human being [in America] right now\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Nate Smith, a member of Extinction Rebellion in New York, says they are used to being the \u201cslap on the wrist\u201d type of disruption activism, but Kuby has told them that the FBI visit is \u201cvery serious\u201d. \u201cI was even advised to let my friends and family know what to do in case they get a knock because of their investigatory processes, and how they could start with less central members to work their way in,\u201d he says. According to Henry Pratt, another XR member, Kuby also advised them that \u201csunlight is the best disinfectant\u201d. With that, they decided to go public with the fact that the FBI is investigating the group, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DUq_g0hiZSV\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1\">posting about it on their Instagram on February 12<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cThis is an everybody problem right now, which is another reason to be speaking for everybody,\u201d says Smith.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Pratt feels like XR has been \u201csingled out\u201d. \u201cI think one interesting element here is the youth element,\u201d he says. \u201cMost of the green movement in the US is predominantly older and conservative, whereas XR New York City has predominantly had more younger people.\u201d So, why would the Trump administration come for a youth climate activists group specifically? Smith has a theory: there\u2019s something powerful about the energy of young people. \u201cAll movements in the US for the last hundred or so years have largely happened on campuses among young people,\u201d he says. \u201cYoung people bring the energy of spontaneity \u2013 just look at Greta hitting the headlines and, a couple of weeks later, there are millions of people protesting across the world.\u201d Pratt concurs. \u201cYouth civic engagement is an enduring challenge in this country, but I think there\u2019s a sense that if they did get involved in actions, things would shift very soon,\u201d he adds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For now, the <\/span><span>previous member of Extinction Rebellion who was visited by the FBI is feeling rightfully spooked. \u201cWe now know how vicious this administration can be, making <\/span><span>visiting me in the boondocks in the middle of nowhere, years after I\u2019ve been involved in any action, actually kind of scarier,\u201d he says. But for some of America\u2019s youth climate activists \u2013 which Smith says there are only a couple of \u201creal\u201d ones left \u2013 the recent events are a call to action. \u201cIt feels counterintuitive to say, because the climate numbers have just got fucking apocalyptic, but we\u2019re in a better moment for hope now because we were once all working under a pretty faulty assumption of winning in a couple of years, maybe,\u201d he says. \u201cIf your posture right now is just \u2018protect the rivers\u2019, God love you, but we must defeat these powers. We\u2019re now seeing if that means it\u2019s time for the big kids to show up.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! 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src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-1-1200-798\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436900.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Why do we think we can\u2019t find love in the club?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69645\/1\/wuthering-heights-novel-difficult-reading-emerald-fennell-tiktok\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Wuthering Heights, 2025 (Film Still)\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/137-43-1018-677\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437348.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">No, Gen-Z aren\u2019t too dumb to read Wuthering Heights<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69640\/1\/romance-booming-our-culture-less-romantic-ever-wuthering-heights-valentines-day\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-1082-720\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1380\/3\/1383697.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Romance is booming. But is our culture less romantic than ever?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>In January, a previous member of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/extinction-rebellion\">Extinction Rebellion<\/a>, who is staying anonymous, picked up a call from someone who said they were a \u201cspecial agent with the FBI\u201d. As many people would, he assumed it was a scam caller. \u201cI said, \u2018No, you\u2019re a fraud\u2019 and hung up,\u201d he tells Dazed. A few minutes later, he got a text, also apparently from the FBI, stating that they were at one of his old addresses and wanted to ask him some questions. \u201cWhen I saw that text, I was even more convinced that it was a scam, so I completely put it out of my head and forgot about it,\u201d he says. \u201cSo it was a surprise to me when they showed up while I was finishing breakfast.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On a recent Friday in February, the former climate activist claims he was visited at home by a woman, accompanied by a man, who identified herself as a counterterrorism agent with the FBI. They told him he was not in any trouble, but they did want to ask some questions about Extinction Rebellion, a protest movement using nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act on climate change. His mind went blank. He told the FBI agents he wouldn\u2019t speak with them. After the two agents left, he called his lawyer, Ronald L. Kuby, who represents several climate activists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI was in a state of shock for the first couple of days,\u201d he says. \u201cThen, I thought about it more, and I feel like this is just the price of being a decent human being [in America] right now.\u201d He had been involved in prominent New York actions in the past, but is no longer active with XR and no longer even lives in New York. The group has also said that in March 2025, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/feb\/18\/extinction-rebellion-fbi-trump-environment\"><span>agents identifying themselves as part of the FBI attempted to speak with six different activists<\/span><\/a><span> affiliated with Extinction Rebellion Boston.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Members of Extinction Rebellion have been known for their theatrical and crowd-pulling protests around the world. Everyone from activist Greta Thunberg to actor Michael Hall has previously attended XR actions. In New York, this has included <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/10\/07\/nyregion\/extinction-rebellion-nyc-protest.html\"><span>lying in pools of fake blood outside the New York Stock Exchange<\/span><\/a><span> to call attention to people killed by climate-related disasters and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2023\/apr\/25\/climate-protest-citibank-banks-fossil-fuel-funding\"><span>chanting along to the music of a mariachi band outside a Citibank office<\/span><\/a><span> to call out US banks for funding fossil fuel projects. The non-violent actions, while sometimes disruptive, should hardly make them a target for the FBI\u2019s counterterrorism unit under a working democracy, where protests are protected. Unfortunately, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/politics\/479924\/democracy-us-brazil-south-korea-poland-backsliding-resilience\"><span>many political experts believe the US is in the midst of a democratic backsliding<\/span><\/a><span>. We\u2019ve seen this as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/17\/us-immigration-judge-rejects-trump-bid-to-deport-columbia-student-mahdawi\"><span>students face deportation proceedings<\/span><\/a><span> for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Trump administration, which is currently working to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/19\/advocacy-groups-sue-trump-administration-over-endangerment-findings-repeal\"><span>roll back environmental protections in the country<\/span><\/a><span>, is casting a wide net to clamp down on protesters, including youth climate activists. In 2020, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2020\/jan\/13\/us-listed-climate-activist-group-extremists\"><span>documents obtained by the<em> Guardian <\/em>revealed<\/span><\/a><span> that members of Climate Direct Action engaged in non-violent civil disobedience targeting the oil industry were listed in internal Department of Homeland Security documents as \u201cextremists\u201d. Today, partaking in \u201cdomestic terrorism\u201d, as defined by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/09\/countering-domestic-terrorism-and-organized-political-violence\/\"><span>memorandum<\/span><\/a><span> President Trump released after the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, can currently mean anything to do with anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism and \u201cextremism on migration, race, and gender\u201d. It\u2019s an intentionally vague strategy aiming to \u201cdisband and uproot networks, entities, and organisations\u201d, which could include any number of intersectional youth climate activists, whose beliefs may involve <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xrebellion.nyc\/events\/our-city-our-fight-protect-migrants-protect-the-planet\"><span>protecting migrants<\/span><\/a><span> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jun\/18\/sunrise-movement-big-oil-climate-bills\"><span>ending the oligarchy<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cI was in a state of shock for the first couple of days. Then, I thought about it more, and I feel like this is just the price of being a decent human being [in America] right now\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Nate Smith, a member of Extinction Rebellion in New York, says they are used to being the \u201cslap on the wrist\u201d type of disruption activism, but Kuby has told them that the FBI visit is \u201cvery serious\u201d. \u201cI was even advised to let my friends and family know what to do in case they get a knock because of their investigatory processes, and how they could start with less central members to work their way in,\u201d he says. According to Henry Pratt, another XR member, Kuby also advised them that \u201csunlight is the best disinfectant\u201d. With that, they decided to go public with the fact that the FBI is investigating the group, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DUq_g0hiZSV\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1\">posting about it on their Instagram on February 12<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cThis is an everybody problem right now, which is another reason to be speaking for everybody,\u201d says Smith.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Pratt feels like XR has been \u201csingled out\u201d. \u201cI think one interesting element here is the youth element,\u201d he says. \u201cMost of the green movement in the US is predominantly older and conservative, whereas XR New York City has predominantly had more younger people.\u201d So, why would the Trump administration come for a youth climate activists group specifically? Smith has a theory: there\u2019s something powerful about the energy of young people. \u201cAll movements in the US for the last hundred or so years have largely happened on campuses among young people,\u201d he says. \u201cYoung people bring the energy of spontaneity \u2013 just look at Greta hitting the headlines and, a couple of weeks later, there are millions of people protesting across the world.\u201d Pratt concurs. \u201cYouth civic engagement is an enduring challenge in this country, but I think there\u2019s a sense that if they did get involved in actions, things would shift very soon,\u201d he adds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For now, the <\/span><span>previous member of Extinction Rebellion who was visited by the FBI is feeling rightfully spooked. \u201cWe now know how vicious this administration can be, making <\/span><span>visiting me in the boondocks in the middle of nowhere, years after I\u2019ve been involved in any action, actually kind of scarier,\u201d he says. But for some of America\u2019s youth climate activists \u2013 which Smith says there are only a couple of \u201creal\u201d ones left \u2013 the recent events are a call to action. \u201cIt feels counterintuitive to say, because the climate numbers have just got fucking apocalyptic, but we\u2019re in a better moment for hope now because we were once all working under a pretty faulty assumption of winning in a couple of years, maybe,\u201d he says. \u201cIf your posture right now is just \u2018protect the rivers\u2019, God love you, but we must defeat these powers. We\u2019re now seeing if that means it\u2019s time for the big kids to show up.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69731\/1\/us-crackdown-youth-climate-activists-protest-extinction-rebellion-xr-trump&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/0-0-2596-1731\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438557.jpg&#8221;] Niklas Halle&#8217;n\/AFP\/Getty Images February\u00a0 24,\u00a0 2026 Life &amp; Culture \/ Feature Life &amp; Culture \/ Feature Why is the US government coming for young climate activists? A former member of Extinction Rebellion was visited by the FBI this month. We speak to him and two current members of XR about what it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1790117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1790117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1790117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1790117\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1790117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1790117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1790117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}