SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — While U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito talked about the identity of West Virginians, protestors from a climate change group swarmed the stage, interrupting the forum.
The Beyond Pepperoni Rolls forum was held at Shepherd University Thursday night and was featuring conversations on the heartbeat of West Virginians before protestors brought a banner on stage and began chanting towards Senator Manchin.
Security eventually removed the protestors from the stage after a few minutes and the program resumed.
Manchin commented on the protest after the group was removed. He said it’s not the first time it’s happened.
“It’s a radical group,” Manchin told the crowd. “They won’t even come and sit and talk with me. They don’t want to talk about anything of what we have and what we have to have. We have to have energy to run this country while we invest in energy we want for the future with less carbon, so we’re all climate concerned about this.”
Manchin also said he’s tried to have discussions with this group but they are unlike traditional protestors.
“You can’t talk to them, I’ve tried to,” Manchin said. “Protestors are good, they’ll come, and I’ll say, ‘Just come sit and talk with me. Just come into my office and let’s talk our differences.’ They do not. Everywhere I go, this is where they show up and anywhere I go, they (security) should know they’re going to show up.”
Capito said she crossed paths with members of the climate protestors and similar experiences with no progress made.
The forum was presented by Stubblefield Institute. MetroNews “Talkline” Host Hoppy Kercheval moderated the event.
The protesters were not Shepherd University students.