Cellist Arrested in a Stop-Oil Protest in New York

John Mark Rozendaal, the founder of Chicago Baroque Ensemble, was arrested with other activists outside Citibank's headquarters 

Shortly after he started playing the cello in front of Citibank’s Manhattan headquarters in protest of the company financing the fossil fuel industry, the 63-year-old climate activist John Mark Rozendaal was arrested by New York City Police officers.

A self-identified pacifist and former adjunct music professor at Princeton University, Rozendaal performed Bach’s Cello Suites in the climate protest in spite of a restraining order, calling the performance “a plea for our future.” 

“We’re going to Citibank on Thursday, not with the intention of breaking the law,” said Rozendaal, according to Inside Climate News. “We’re going there with the intention of defying Citibank’s intent to intimidate us.”

"Over the last decade, Citibank has been the world's number one funder of fossil fuel expansion,” he added, as reported by Brett Wilkins. “Yet rather than doing something about its role in the climate crisis, Citi is choosing instead to target climate activists with false charges and unwarranted arrests.”

This protest comes nine weeks into the Summer of Heat on Wall Street civil disobedience campaign by climate activists targeting Citibank’s financing of companies funding and expanding fossil fuel projects. 

The Stop the Money Pipeline campaign’s director Alec Connon and 13 of around 70 other activists were also arrested by the police — among them were Climate Organizing Hub’s director Jonathan Westin and Planet Over Profit’s co-founder Teddy Ogborn. 

Rozendaal and Connon have since been released and charged with criminal contempt for violating an order of protection, wrote Inside Climate News. 

Around three weeks ago, Citi security worker and retired New York City Police Department officer James Flynn accused Rozendaal and Connon of assault after he allegedly ducked under a PVC pipe that the activists were using to blockade the bank’s doors and claimed it hit his head. 

Connon and Rozendaal’s arms were locked inside the PVC pipe and stated that their action was nonviolent and they did not assault any Citi employee, Inside Climate News reported. 

A judge then issued an order of protection or restraining order for Flynn against the two activists, preventing them from going near Flynn’s person, home, school, business, or place of employment for six months, but did not specify any of these locations. 

Connon and Rozendaal will go to court in September 2024 on assault charges from July and the new criminal contempt charges. Until then, the order of protection will remain. 

“In spite of this happening while there were dozens of cameras around and being at the global headquarters of a major bank, no footage of this incident exists,” said Connon in a statement referring to the assault allegation. “This is because it never happened.”

“While we respect the right to protest peacefully, activists do not have the right to chain themselves to our building or vandalize our properties,” read a statement from Citibank, according to Inside Climate News. “We appreciate the assistance of the NYPD in restoring access to our building.”