A total of 47 people were arrested Monday protesting fracking projects approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This was the first day of the Beyond Extreme Energy week of protests at FERC, in Washington, DC. The protests seek to to shut down FERC throughout the week. On Monday, 25 people were arrested there, seven were arrested at a construction site for the Cove Point fracked gas export facility in Maryland and 15 were arrested at the Senaca Lake storage facility in New York.

At FERC more than 100 protesters blockaded three entrances, including the entrance to the garage. They used a variety of forms of blockades and creative resistance artwork. Artwork included images of families adversely impacted by fracking as well as a town. Beyond Extreme Energy wanted to show that FERC is destroying families and communities and needs to be shut down. Police from Homeland Security destroyed the town and pulled down the images as part of its effort to protect FERC.

In the afternoon the BXE protesters marched to the Democratic National Committee to make a point, on the day before Election Day, that the Democrats are losing the vote of people concerned about climate because the policies they are putting forward continue to make climate change worse. The protesters delivered a letter to the DNC as well as pillows. The pillows were given because the Democrats are in bed with big oil and gas.

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