D.C. climate protesters want to bring 'the whole city to a gridlocked standstill' — and it seems to be working

Climate protesters are creating a whole new kind of gridlock in Washington, D.C.

As the United Nations gathered for its Climate Action Summit on Monday, protesters filled the capital's streets to "seize key intersections" and bring the city to a halt, per a press release from the Shut Down DC movement. They were still blocking traffic near the Capitol Building as the morning wore on, but it appeared several protesters, including some students, were cleared off the streets and arrested.

A week of climate action around the world kicked off last week with massive global rallies, headlined by teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. She's slated to speak at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, prompting Shut Down DC to ask "climate rebels" to "seize key intersections in the city at 7 a.m., disrupting the city’s morning rush hour traffic." And as videos captured of D.C.'s busiest streets revealed, it seemed to be working.

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Soon, police began warning protesters they'd be arrested if they didn't leave the streets soon, and then started rounding them up.

Yet near the Capitol, protests turned dance parties raged on. Kathryn Krawczyk