Protesters gather at McConnell's office to support Green New Deal

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The protest, organized by the group of young environmental activists Sunrise Movement, follows an altercation between other young protesters and Californian Senator Dianne Feinstein on Friday over her lack of support for the Green New Deal. The 10-year global climate change initiative, sponsored by the Democratic Republic of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, has forced more moderate Democrats to consider the progressive pressure within the party – although McConnell, who heads the Senate, is a Republican from Kentucky.

Protesters, including Kentuckians, arrived at McConnell's office around 10:40 am ET. Several gathered and spoke in the lobby of the office while dozens of others lined the halls, many wearing black and yellow shirts and holding placards with slogans such as "Mitch, look at us in the eyes "and" Kentucky needs a Green New Deal ".

"We wanted to get 100,000 signatures from across the country (from people) who are supporting Ocasio and the Green New Deal from Markey's Green," said Destine Grigsby, 17, of Louisville, Kentucky, at staff of McConnell. "We also wanted to ask if we could tell him stories, if we could … tell him why we were here and why we support the Green New Deal."

McConnell promised earlier this month to hold a vote on the measure – a way to force vulnerable democrats to take a stand. On Monday, Rigsby called the move "a way to crush our movement … a way for him to play games with our future."

Staff offered to check McConnell's availability, but the senator did not meet the protesters.

"Like all Kentuckians visiting Washington, we welcomed them to the office today," Robert Steurer, McConnell's Director of Communications, told CNN in an email.

After a series of speeches, protesters inside and inside McConnell's office began singing "which side you are on", prompting the Capitol Police to issue warnings and to start making arrests. Officers arrested 42 people for demonstrating, illegally stacking and obstructing the building, confirmed capital police spokeswoman Eva Malecki to CNN.

After they were removed from inside the Senate building by Capitol police, protesters rallied outside to encourage those arrested and continue to gather.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Destine Grigsby, a participant in the Sunrise Movement protest.

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