A group pushing for action on climate change is claiming credit for a protester who interrupted a televised Maine U.S. Senate debate on Thursday.
In a release, the Sunrise Movement said the outburst during the debate hosted by Maine Public was part of a campaign in which youth activists confront politicians. The group also identified the protestor as a Bowdoin College student.
That student was allowed into the ticketed event because he was wearing a press credential that appeared to be from the Bowdoin Orient, the college's student newspaper. But the editor of the paper told Maine Public that it did not send any reporters to the event and that the credential was likely fabricated.
The Sunrise Movement bills itself as a youth activist group. It uses aggressive and controversial tactics to raise awareness about climate change. Maine Public asked the group whether impersonating reporters is standard practice, but it did not respond to the inquiry.
The interruption prompted Republican Sen. Susan Collins to claim the protester is a supporter of her opponent, Democrat Troy Jackson. Jackson responded by telling Collins to shut up and that he did not know the protester.
