13 protesters arrested for derailing delivery of The Post to 70K New Yorkers

At least 13 protesters were arrested outside the New York Post’s printing press early Friday after staging a shocking demonstration and attack on press freedom by preventing the delivery of newspapers to tens of thousands of New Yorkers.

Extinction Rebellion, the unruly group behind the protest, targeted the Queens printing press used by The Post’s parent company, News Corp, as well as The New York Times and USA Today’s publisher, Gannett.

The group admitted to intentionally trying to “disrupt the distribution of these corporations’ flagship daily publications” over what they claimed was a lack of climate change coverage across major U.S. media outlets.

“This morning’s puerile protest was an attack on press freedom, imposed a wasteful burden on the stretched resources of the New York Police Department, and generated unnecessary emissions that contributed to environmental degradation,” a News Corp spokesperson said.

“The protesters are unashamed polluters.”

The Post was unable to deliver more than 73,000 copies of its Friday newspaper due to the protest. More than 30,000 copies of The Wall Street Journal — also owned by News Corp — failed to go out as well. It wasn’t immediately clear how drastically the Times was affected by the protest.

Despite the protestors’ claim that media outlets are essentially ignoring the climate crisis, News Corp has a goal to reduce its fuel and electricity carbon emissions by 60% by 2030 and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company’s initiatives resulted in a 36% reduction across operational and supply chain scopes of emissions last year. 

Footage of the ordeal showed dozens of protestors connecting themselves in what’s known as a “sleeping dragon method” — a common protest tactic that see them interlock their arms with metal pipes.

The protestors were taken into custody shortly after midnight and are now facing a number of charges, including obstruction of governmental administration, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, cops told The Post.

A number of others received summonses at the scene of the protest, but it wasn’t immediately clear how many, according to police.

Drivers who deliver The Post were stuck inside the property, located at 1 New York Times Plaza, with their trucks loaded and ready to go as the protest dragged on.

“As a result of the protesters blockading the plant where the New York Post is printed, our drivers could not leave the premises on time, so our home delivery customers in the New York metro area did not receive their papers this morning,” said Sarah Kleinhandler, The Post’s vice president of marketing and execution.

“We know how much our readers count on their morning delivery, and we are sorry that this protest impacted their service. Across the 5 boroughs, Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester, nearly all customers will not receive Friday’s paper today, but our carriers will deliver it with the Saturday paper.”

She added: “We are disappointed by the situation, but appreciate how understanding our readers are in this situation that was out of our control.”

A spokesperson for the New York Times slammed the protestors for disrupting their operations and said they were still working to notify customers of the failed deliveries.

“While we fully support this group’s right to express their point of view, even when we disagree with it as it relates to our coverage, disrupting our business operations and depriving people of critical information is not acceptable,” a spokesperson for the outlet said.