Protester Arrested For Walking 195 Loops Around Courthouse For 15 Hours

A protester who walked laps around the U.S. District Court in Portland, Maine, was arrested by federal authorities on trespassing charges. Rob Levin's 15-hour vigil, that he says totaled 195 revolutions of the courthouse, was intended to draw attention to the President Trump-led U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.

Levin tells the Bangor Daily News that his act of civil disobedience should reflect a national tragedy because the United States' decision to pull out of the internationa climate change accord led him to do something he says he'd never done before -- break the law. Levin says he knew there was potential he could be imprisoned over the protest, but that didn't deter him from erecting an American flag at half-staff on the courthouse property.

“I’ve never considered doing that before in this way and it’s sad to me. I feel more sad than anything, and yet I feel I need act on this and not just sit and feel sad,” he says.

Levin started his loops of the U.S. District Courthouse in Portland around midnight and continued walking for more than 15 hours in the snow and sleet weather currently affecting Maine. He said he did 195 revolutions around the courthouse to mark each other country that has signed on to the international climate change agreement. Levin said he and a dozen or so other protesters walked around the courthouse counterclockwise to symbolize the U.S. government's retreat from the environmental pact.

“And it’s so hard to know what to do just as one person. And I know what we’re doing today may not make a difference, but it feels like something, and hopefully it’s one of way of raising our voice about what’s going on,” fellow protester Liz McGhee told the Bangor Daily news Wednesday.

McGhee added that she’s that climate change effects the Arctic region and its wildlife is of particular importance and is now under threat from more countries potentially following suit with the U.S. and pulling out of the agreement.

“The thing that’s really been breaking my heart is what’s been happening to the polar bears and all the other creatures that are not quite the studs and the poster boys that the polar bears are,” she added.

Levin's trespassing charge may have been worth it as he estimates he walked around 30 miles during his peaceful protest, albeit on federal government property. Local news reports he may spend the evening in federal custody.