WASHINGTON (TNND) — Leaders of an environmental advocacy organization known for pulling provocative stunts such as spray painting the Charging Bull statue in New York City and pouring paint at Google headquarters claim that they are under investigation by the FBI.
Extinction Rebellion NYC, a self-described “nonviolent climate advocacy nonprofit,” alleged that two special agents from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force visited a former member at their home 200 miles outside of New York City.
“The agents asked the former member about their involvement in XRNYC,” the press release shared with the National News Desk stated.
“They declined to speak with agents, referring all questions to their attorney.”
The National News Desk reached out to the FBI to confirm if there is an ongoing investigation into Extinction Rebellion NYC.
The press release noted that this isn’t the time the FBI has visited members of its organization. In March 2025, six activists — including a professor at Boston University — affiliated with Extinction Rebellion Boston were visited by FBI agents, WBUR reported.
The Boston outlet found that the only connection the activists had with each other was their involvement in climate based protests. While a few of them have misdemeanors stemming from civil disobedience; none of them have federal arrest records.
A retired FBI Special Agent Michael Harrigan told WBUR that agents conduct “hundreds of thousands of interviews and contacts a year, if not more,” suggesting that the bureau could have just been gathering intelligence.
The press release from Extinction Rebellion NYC, which has been a harsh credit of President Donald Trump, the Elon Musk owned Tesla, and the rise of AI data processing centers, alluded to concerns that the FBI visit may have been apart of President Trump’s September executive order seeking to root out Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.
“’Domestic Terrorism’ may not yet be a criminal charge, but the Trump Administration is gearing up to create it,” the press release said. “The DOJ’s NSPM-7 database of “Domestic Terror Organizations” will be the broadest criminalization of free speech since McCarthyism or the height of the civil rights movement.”
While Extinction Rebellion NYC claims to be a nonviolent climate group; the organization has taken responsibility for graffitiing Tesla showrooms, Trump’s 45 seal located at one of his hotels, and an Apple store. The climate group claims that their tactics are protected under the First Amendment. Notably, activist Greta Thumberg has been involved in some of the group’s events.