The group met with Raimondo and members of her cabinet earlier in the day to discuss their vision for a Green New Deal and ask that the governor sign a pledge promising not accept campaign donations over $200 dollars from fossil fuel executives and lobbyists.
In a statement about her meeting with climate activists, Raimondo said she will sign, “any bill that takes a productive approach to keeping Rhode Island at the forefront of fighting climate change.”
But she refused to meet Sunrise activists’ core demand that she sign a No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.
In response, Sunrise activists camped out in the Capitol building’s rotunda. Typically, the statehouse closes at 4:30 pm, but R.I. State Police gave the activists until 7:00 pm to leave the building or be arrested. When a group of fourteen activists refused to leave, state police arrested them, saying they’ll be charged with trespass and obstruction. 
After the meeting with the governor, organizer and Brown University student Emma Bouton said, “We left the meeting saying that she would look into the pledge in more depth, and we pledged to continue on with our occupation of the statehouse until she agrees to sign on.”
Bouton continued, “This is about our futures and we need a real commitment from her to reject the influence of the fossil fuel industry on our political system.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the governor said she does not accept contributions from fossil fuel companies. But records show the governor has accepted contributions from energy company executives. In 2016 and 2015 Raimondo received the maximum amount in contributions ($1000 per year) from the CEO of Invenergy while the company was trying to build a natural gas power plant in Burrillville.
Climate activists also protested outside the statehouse Friday afternoon, in conjunction with protests around the country. And 27 activists with the Boston chapter of the Sunrise Movement were arrested at the Massachusetts statehouse, demanding Gov. Charlie Baker pass the Mass Power Forward agenda and support a Massachusetts Green New Deal.
