Joe Manchin Driving Maserati Blocked in Parking Garage by Climate Activists

A group of climate change activists blocked Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) from driving away in his silver Maserati in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning by standing in front of and behind the vehicle.

Video posted to Twitter shows the activists in a D.C. parking garage standing around the West Virginia senator's car as he tried to drive away and calling on him to "pass climate change bills."

Another video showed activists following Manchin from his houseboat—which is primary residence when in D.C.—to the garage while carrying signs aimed at the senator and chanting "We want to live!"

John Paul Mejia, national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, shared the footage on Twitter of activists following Manchin to the garage.

The Sunrise Movement describes itself as "building a movement of young people to stop climate change & create millions of good jobs in the process."

The activists were carrying signs including a large banner that read: "Joe Manchin is burning our future for profit."

They also chanted "We want to live! We want to live!" as the senator walks down the street. In his tweet, Mejia wrote: "This comes after Manchin once again declines @POTUS' Build Back Better Act, holding hostage significant investments in climate."

Another twitter user with the handle @Tim_Tweeted shared a video that appears to have been originally posted to TikTok by an account called @hungry4climatejustice showing the activists in the garage while Manchin tries to drive away in his silver Maserati.

Text superimposed on the video and a voice said: "We blockaded Joe Manchin car and he tried to run us over." One protester can be heard to shout: "Pass climate change bills."

The car began to move forward as the activists stood in front of it, some pressing against the vehicle as it moved. Security guards eventually arrived and moved the protesters out of the car's path.

Manchin's vote is crucial in passing the Build Back Better Act in the evenly divided Senate.

The infrastructure and social spending proposals have divided Democrats and Manchin has expressed opposition to the original $3.5 trillion price tag and individual measures in the legislation.

The cost of the bill has now been reduced to $1.5 trillion—a figure Manchin has previously said he can support—but has expressed criticism of green energy measures in the legislation.

Manchin has also faced criticism from climate change campaigners over his opposition to a proposed provision in the Build Back Better Act that would provide $150 billion toward replacing coal and gas-fired power plants in the U.S. His home state of West Virginia is a major coal producer.

Newsweek has asked Senator Manchin's office for comment.