Climate activists crash event featuring Manchin, chanting ‘dirty deal’

Climate activists interrupted an event with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday, shouting “dirty deal,” as he began discussing the Mountain Valley pipeline deal he secured in the recent debt-ceiling agreement. 

“Dirty deal! MVP! Manchin, you are killing me! Dirty deal!” protestors chanted at the Semafor event, before storming the stage, according to multiple reports. 

The West Virginia Democrat reportedly retreated to a back room for several minutes as about 20 protestors occupied the stage and sang the John Denver classic, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Manchin said he had tried to start a dialogue with the protestors with no success, Semafor reported.

He had long fought to get the pipeline secured, and the recent law raising the debt ceiling and adding some new spending caps included language that would expedite the $6.6 billion project. 

Climate activists have long protested the pipeline, which would amount to a 300-mile natural gas pipeline. Manchin has argued that it will increase domestic energy production, thereby lowering costs and reducing dependence on foreign energy.

The protestors, however, claim that the pipeline’s completion would increase carbon emissions and could cause long-term damage that would be catastrophic to the environment. 

Following the interruption, Manchin reportedly returned to the stage and, as Bloomberg reported, said he was not bothered by the interruption.

“What these people did today helps me tremendously in my state,” he added.