Thread by @ClimateDefiance

Statement from Climate Defiance founder Michael Greenberg, who was recently locked up by DHS under false charges:

"This is not an easy thing to write about but I just got out of jail. I was trapped in a 35 square foot cage. I slept on a bare metal shelf." (1/15) 🧵

"Denied a sleeping pad, I resorted to using my Brooks Adrenaline running shoes as a mattress. My shirt was my pillow. I was desperate for sleep and also unable to achieve it. I understood for the first time why 'sleep deprivation' counts as a torture technique."

(2/15)

"Roaches swarmed every surface. Anguished cries from mentally ill people rang through the halls. One man, removed from reality, spent much of the night bellowing about the 'hundred sheep' he owns."

(3/15)

"I got locked up because I confronted the venture capitalist Commerce Secretary, who is complicit in our nation's fossil fuel buildout. Serving on the board of the Export Import Bank, she sat silently by as, days ago, this bank insured a $400,000,000 loan to a gas titan." (4/15)

"She did nothing to stop the Alaska LNG project, which would ship so much gas to Japan that it would have a bigger footprint than Willow. How on earth does our country's top commerce official have nothing to say about such a disastrous deal related so closely to her work?" (5/15)

"You can see the video of our encounter with the Secretary here. Please watch. I want others to see this. I want others to make the choice to stand up in their own communities" (6/15) instagram.com/p/CvKVxnst5j3/…

"I was scared for my safety in jail. At one point, I was left alone in a hot van, handcuffed and unsure whether I would be forgotten in there. At another, I worried one of the inmates was about to get violent."

(7/15)

"One of the other Climate Defiance members who got arrested with me was denied lifesaving meds for two days - it's a small miracle he survived what could have been a lethal situation."

(8/15)

"Mostly what I experienced was boredom. Utter, utter boredom. Not 'lazy Saturday afternoon' boredom but boredom so profound I questioned how long my mental sanity would hold out. Minutes dripped by like hours."

(9/15)

"Time - ordinarily our most precious gift in this world - turned into a torture device. There were no phones. No magazines. No tvs. No books. It was just me and metal surrounding me."

(10/15)

"Jail was isolating. 'What am I doing with my life?' I asked myself that question more than once while stewing behind those metal bars." (11/15)

"I was miserable and I was also reminded of how lucky I was. My stay was nothing compared to the people who spend their whole lives in and out of prison - often because they have been denied access to legal economic opportunities."

(12/15)

"I wondered if I'd be dumped out on an empty sidewalk at the end, alone and sad. And yet when I got out I saw a big crowd of Climate Defiance activists waiting for me. I am not alone in this fight, I learned. We have community here and we take care of each other."

(13/15)

"Going to jail was not easy but it was needed. I am more resolved than ever. I will continue make good trouble until our politicians enact the solutions we need."

(14/15)

"If you are ready to stand with me, please comment here. Climate Defiance is working to welcome new members so we can scale up and win changes at the speed and scope this moment demands. We will respond to as many comments as possible!" (15/15)