Citibank has used false allegations to obtain an unconstitutional Order of Protection in an attempt to intimidate two activists, John Mark Rozendaal and Alec Connon, and prevent them from returning to Citibank’s HQ where they have been peacefully protesting Citi’s financing of fossil fuels regularly for the past two months. If they return to Citi’s HQ they could be charged with criminal contempt―which carries a maximum sentence of 7 years in jail.

On Thursday, August 8th, John Mark Rozendaal will defy Citi’s attempt to silence peaceful protest by playing a live cello performance in the public plaza outside Citi’s HQ. The performance is called A Plea for our Future and will feature John Mark performing Bach’s Suites for ‘Cello. John Mark will be joined by Alec at the performance.

John Mark, a 63-year-old grandfather, is an accomplished cellist who has played in orchestras and venues across the globe. Until recently, he was an adjunct instructor in the music department at Princeton University, a position he left in order to focus full-time on peaceful protest to address the climate crisis.

Please join us for this one-of-a-kind performance. We invite you to dress in business casual to observe the performance.

This action is being planned by the Summer of Heat coalition, and co-sponsored by Extinction Rebellion NYC. Summer of Heat's convening organizations are Stop the Money Pipeline, Climate Defenders, Climate Organizing Hub, New York Communities for Change, and Planet over Profit.