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Harvard conducting review after climate activist shoved to the ground when confronting Joe Manchin

The protester called Manchin an obscenity, at which Manchin jumped up. A man quickly got in between them and held Manchin back, then pushed the protester to the ground, video shows.

Climate Defiance

A climate protester who approached West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin at a Harvard University study group was pushed to the ground, a video posted to X shows.

“You sold our futures, and you got rich doing it,” the protester said to Manchin. In the video, the protester can be heard calling Manchin an obscenity, at which Manchin jumps up. A man quickly gets in between them and holds Manchin back. He then turns and pushes the protester to the ground.

Harvard did not say if the man who pushed the protester was with Harvard or Manchin.

Manchin was a guest speaker at a Kennedy School Institute of Politics study group to discuss his centrist politics on Friday, event information said

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In a statement, Harvard said an outside group disrupted the study group.

“A Harvard University police officer ordered the protesters to leave the Kennedy School campus, and the protesters complied. Senator Manchin continued his discussion with IOP students after the disruption. The Harvard University Police Department and the Kennedy School are reviewing the incident.”

The protesters admonished Manchin for accepting more funding from fossil fuels than any other senator, which was accurate in 2021 to 2022. This year, he’s sixth on the list, according to OpenSecrets.

They chanted “protect our futures, not your profits” and mentioned the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a contentious project that will move forward after a Supreme Court order. 

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Manchin’s office did not return a request for comment.

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Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.

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