{"id":29186,"date":"2023-10-19T13:22:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T20:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=29186"},"modified":"2023-10-19T13:22:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T20:22:59","slug":"wells-fargo-ceo-arrested-for-climate-crimes-in-extinction-rebellion-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/10\/19\/wells-fargo-ceo-arrested-for-climate-crimes-in-extinction-rebellion-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Wells Fargo CEO \u2018arrested\u2019 for climate crimes in Extinction Rebellion action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yes, it’s political theater\u2014but people who profit from the destruction of the planet should at some point be held accountable.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By JOEL SCHECHTER<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OCTOBER 17, 2023 (48hills.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 13, the arrest of Charles Scharf was rehearsed outside his bank\u2019s Market Street office in San Francisco. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scharf, Chief Executive Officer of Wells Fargo, was not actually arrested, although he was invited to come out and hear the charges against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California\u2019s penal code permits anyone to make a citizen\u2019s arrest if they witness a misdemeanor or felony crime, or have reason to believe a felony has been committed.  That includes white collar crimes and property crimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wells Fargo CEO gets a slap on the wrist.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate activists in Extinction Rebellion decided Scharf\u2019s bank loans of $316 billion to oil, gas and coal corporations since 2016 qualify him for arrest, as his financing of fossil fuel projects leads to excessive planet warming, floods, wildfires, death, and destruction.  (War profiteering by defense industry corporations also merits some arrests; but Extinction Rebellion isn\u2019t taking that on right now.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A warrant server outside Wells Fargo headquarters initiated Scharf\u2019s arrest for climate crimes. Through a megaphone, the citizen from Extinction Rebellion called for the bank CEO to surrender. A megaphone was needed because security guards inside the building refused to let activists deliver a warrant in person. (I know this because I stood at the front entrance and asked a guard to let me in.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anticipating Scharf\u2019s reluctance to participate in the event, Extinction Rebellion activists had an actor ready to portray the CEO outside his building. Scharf\u2019s stand-in surrendered, but not before he argued that \u201ceverything our bank does is for the good of the country, to secure energy independence, freedom from want, the American dream.\u201d   Then he called for his lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Surrender, CEO!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another actor claiming to be Scharf\u2019s lawyer defended the CEO as \u201ctoo big to fail, too big to go to prison or even go to trial.\u201d  That did not prevent me from handcuffing the actor portraying Scharf, who after some consultation with his lawyer agreed to accept a slap on the wrist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before he could exit, the Scharf stand-in was confronted by two women from Extinction Rebellion who spoke on behalf of future generations, including a toddler wearing a judge\u2019s robe and wig. The kid smiled and said \u201cHi,\u201d or maybe it was \u201cHee,\u201d a friendly judgment in any case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A startling, ten-foot tall, ornate cloth puppet, an earth mother (or was she Mother Earth?) with the faces of six children in her folds stood with two other women as they told Scharf\u2019s stand-in he should take a time out and stop harming the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Extinction Rebellion delegation warned Scharf that while only an actor,  not the CEO himself,  had been arrested during this performance,  the banker should take notice. The time has come to stop arresting peaceful protesters and start arresting climate criminals instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Telling the CEO to take a time out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not unusual these days to hear an elected official in Washington DC dismiss an opponent\u2019s impassioned speech by saying: \u201cIt was only political theatre.\u201d Extinction Rebellion\u2019s street theatre ought not to be dismissed, although it is theatre; it\u2019s also a rehearsal for the prosecution of criminals.  Those who profit by financing climate chaos\u2014bank CEOs and others\u2014should be held accountable for their felonious misconduct.  Let the citizen\u2019s arrests begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Schechter, professor emeritus of San Francisco State University\u2019s School of Theatre and Dance, participated in several Extinction Rebellion performances, including \u201cThe Citizen\u2019s Arrest of a Climate Criminal\u201d described here.  A brief film version of the arrest scene can be watched online here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, it’s political theater\u2014but people who profit from the destruction of the planet should at some point be held accountable. By JOEL SCHECHTER OCTOBER 17, 2023 (48hills.org) On October 13, the arrest of Charles Scharf was rehearsed outside his bank\u2019s Market Street office in San Francisco.  Scharf, Chief Executive Officer… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[482],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29186"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29191,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29186\/revisions\/29191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}