Troy Horton booked a 3 p.m. appointment at a Wells Fargo branch in Tempe to discuss “the future of his children.”
With four children, seven grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, Horton, who’s 68, felt he had much to discuss.
Except his intent wasn’t to meet with a financial advisor to speak about a college savings fund or estate planning. Horton wanted to talk about matters that would affect his children, but also, in his view, everyone else’s children as well: climate change.
And more specifically, Wells Fargo’s role in funding fossil fuel emissions.
Over about an hour, Horton spoke with a bank manager, tied himself to the front door of the building and was finally arrested and taken away by police. He spent the night in jail and was scheduled for a court hearing Friday morning. He’s expected to be released later.
Horton’s group plans more protests as a way of drawing attention to investments in fossil fuels, especially investments by banks.
How much does Wells Fargo invest in fossil fuels?
Wells Fargo is the third-largest investor in fossil fuels and the second largest investor in fracking, according to a fossil fuel finance report authored by several environmental groups.
Four large U.S. banks dominate global fossil fuels financing, making up a quarter of the world’s fossil fuels financing.
Wells Fargo invested $272 billion into fossil fuels from 2016 to 2021, behind JPMorgan Chase, which invested $382 billion, and Citibank, which invested $285 billion. Bank of America came in fourth, investing $232 billion.
Wells Fargo also invested heavily into fracked oil and gas last year, the report showed, spending about $8.5 billion and funding producers like Diamondback Energy and pipeline companies like Kinder Morgan.
The report determined those numbers by using data on banks’ corporate lending and underwriting transactions, and some data on project finance where it was available.
Last year, several banks committed to transitioning their portfolios to net zero by 2050 or sooner, including Wells Fargo. But the report noted that Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase both increased their fossil fuels financing in 2021.
Horton said Phoenix’s chapter of the Extinction Rebellion, a global climate action group, chose to protest Wells Fargo instead of JPMorgan Chase or Citibank because of what they viewed as the bank’s other transgressions, including creating fake customer accounts and suppressing whistleblowers from a few years ago.
Horton said he also believes Wells Fargo is the most vulnerable of the four large U.S. banks. He said Wells Fargo is more concerned with losing customers than JPMorgan Chase, which depends less on the average customer for income.
In an email to The Arizona Republic, LiAna Enriquez, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo, said Wells Fargo has committed to supporting the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
“To this end, last year, we set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 — including client emissions attributable to our financing,” Enriquez wrote. “We intend to support clients through the low-carbon transition through financing to support their respective transitions and by supporting the innovation ecosystem that is bringing new low-carbon technologies and business models to market.”
More protests to come
What happened Thursday was the first of a planned series of protests by the Extinction Rebellion chapter at local bank branches, not limited to Wells Fargo, members said. The group suggested people should instead place their money in credit unions or smaller banks.
Nine protesters showed up to the Wells Fargo branch in downtown Tempe. Most of them cited their children and grandchildren as a reason for attending; the average age of the protesters was about 44.
Kathy Mohr-Almeida, a psychotherapist from Mesa, said she was concerned about her daughter’s future with an increasing climate and the devastating impacts that come with it.
“I got other things I could be doing, but that’s why I’m here,” she said.
A majority of the protesters banked with credit unions, apart from one, who has Wells Fargo accounts but plans to close them.
While the rest of the protesters waited outside the building, Horton walked into the branch with another woman, identified as Rachel.
In a very polite exchange, Horton and Rachel spoke with two bank employees.
“Well, I will be locking myself to your door. Just wanted to let you know that,” Horton told them.
One of the employees asked Horton if he was familiar with other Wells Fargo branches. The employee also pointed out that other banks invest in fossil fuels.
After a short conversation, Horton left and used a metal wire to tie himself to the front doors of the building that housed the bank, although a back entrance made it possible for anyone to leave.
The bank employees called police. Soon four officers arrived.
When a police officer first initiated a conversation with Horton, he doubled down, shifting the wire from his hand and re-tying it around his abdomen, right below his belly button.
“You definitely can’t tie yourself to the door… does that make sense?” the officer asked Horton.
The officer untied the metal wire and led Horton to a police car. Another officer told The Republic Horton was arrested for trespassing. He spent the night in jail and is expected to be released later.
Horton’s said he’s been arrested four times before, once for protesting an oil and gas terminal in Washington and the others for protesting the Iraq War. He knew there was a good chance he would get arrested that day.
He said he wasn’t afraid to get arrested again. But he’s turning 69 next week and hopes he won’t have to spend his birthday in jail.
Zayna Syed is an environmental reporter for The Arizona Republic/azcentral. Follow her reporting on Twitter at @zaynasyed_ and send tips or other information about stories to zayna.syed@arizonarepublic.com.
Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Read More:Protester ties himself to a Wells Fargo door to protest investments
2022-05-20 19:29:14
