Climate change activists with a group calling itself Tyre Extinguishers are celebrating their first ‘action’ in New York City – deflating the tires of 40 SUVs on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The movement, which originated in the United Kingdom, seeks to dissuade people from owning SUVs in urban areas, and switch instead to more environmentally-friendly vehicles.
The SUVs they vandalized had leaflets let on the windshield, which stated: ‘Attention: Your gas guzzler kills’.
On Twitter, they boasted about their actions.
‘BIG NEWS: TYRE EXTINGUISHERS STRIKE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NEW YORK CITY!’ they tweeted on Tuesday.
One victim emailed them with the subject: ‘Damn you, Red Coats!’
The SUV-owner said that ‘far more environmentally unfriendly’ pickup trucks would now be called out, to repair the damaged vehicles, and pointed out most of those attacked would be covered by insurance.
The loosely-organized movement encourages anyone to participate, at will. They encourage acting under the cover of darkness, working in pairs, and practicing on bicycle tires first.
Activists are told to avoid cars used for people with disabilities, traders’ cars, minibuses and normal-sized cars – but electric SUVs are considered fair game.
‘NYC is just the latest place and we expect other cities in the USA to follow,’ they said.
A spokesman for the group told Fox News Digital they intended to carry out more actions.
‘We are rapidly expanding across the United States and are in touch with people in major cities across the USA,’ a spokesperson said.
‘We expect this to expand massively.’
In a statement, the group said they ‘want to see bans on SUVs in urban areas, pollution levies to tax SUVs out of existence, and massive investment in free, comprehensive public transport.’
They added: ‘But until politicians make this a reality, Tyre Extinguishers action will continue.’
Critics on social media said the action was misguided.
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