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Extinction Rebellion US

Website:

extinctionrebellion.us/
Tax ID:

83-2656566
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(4) (Revoked 5-2021)
Type:

Environmental Activist Organization

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Extinction Rebellion US, also known as “XR US,” is an environmentalist activism group affiliated with the United Kingdom-based Extinction Rebellion (XR) “direct action” movement. 1 According to its website, the group’s goals include causing “economic and government disruption on an unprecedented scale” to force the U.S. government into making environmental policy changes such as halving U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, transition to a “net zero” economy by 2050, and subordinating the United States government to a “Citizens’ Assembly.” 2

It should not be confused with Extinction Rebellion America (XRA), which is an independent splinter group of activists from XR US who broke away from the organization in 2020 due to a dispute over adding “social justice” principles to the organization’s overall mission.  3

Background

Extinction Rebellion US (XR US) was founded in 2018 as the American branch of the U.K.-based Extinction Rebellion (XR) “direct action” movement, which had been created that same year by activists allegedly affiliated with Earth First! and Occupy Wall Street protest movements 4 XR’s overall goals were to force government change to environmentalist policies through public demonstrations, acts of vandalism, and civil disobedience.  5 By December 2022, XR announced it had decided “to temporarily shift away from public disruption as a primary tactic,”  6 though affiliated activists continued to take part in disruptive acts and vandalism since then.  7

XR US’s platform originally called for the United States to transition to a “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions economy by 2025, but it has since updated that to call for halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 with full net-zero by 2050. 2

Extinction Rebellion America Split

Following its creation in 2018, Extinction Rebellion US (XR US) proposed “Three Demands”: “Tell the Truth,” “Act Now,” “Decide Together.” 1 In 2019, the XR US added a fourth demand, “Just Transition,” to ensure a transition towards a collectivist net-zero global economy which prioritizes “the most vulnerable people and indigenous sovereignty.”  3

Following this decision, several XR US chapters split from the main group, retaining the original three demands but rejecting the fourth as a distraction from the original intent to coalition-build through environmental activism. The chapters that split from the main group established a separate organization, Extinction Rebellion America (XRA).  3

In 2024, XRA founder and president Johnathan Logan was interviewed by Vice News,  3  where he alleged, “If we don’t solve climate change, Black lives don’t matter. If we don’t solve climate change now, LGBTQ don’t matter. If we don’t solve climate change right now, all of us together in one big group, the #MeToo movement doesn’t matter… I can’t say it hard enough. We don’t have time to argue about social justice.”  3

Activities

In 2019, Extinction Rebellion United States (XR US) local chapter Extinction Rebellion Washington DC was one of several organizers to plan and participate in Shut Down DC, an activist demonstration which advocated for increased environmentalist policies. The march was timed to coincide with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s speech to the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City that same day.  8

In June 2019, a reported 66 XR US activists were arrested for blocking access to the New York City headquarters of the New York Times. 9 One spokesperson for the organization criticized the Times’s coverage of climate change-related issues, claiming the paper should be treating climate change “like it was World War II, where there were headlines every single day.”  9

In 2020, protesters affiliated with the XR US Portland chapter were arrested after allegedly vandalizing train tracks with dirt and straw on the tracks that led to an electrical generation plant.  10

In April 2024, XR US Boston-affiliated protestors forced a temporary closure of Hanscom Field Airport in Bedford, Massachusetts after they breached a security perimeter to protest the construction of private jet hangars. 11

In June 2024, XR US-affiliated activists disrupted play at a PGA Tour golf tournament by marching onto the course while spray painting the golf course with orange paint. 12

In April 2025, an XR US-affiliated activist vandalized a Presidential seal on display at Trump Tower in New York City while displaying the XR insignia over it before being arrested. 13

In September 2025, Extinction Rebellion NYC activists blocked access to the headquarters of Paramount Global media company, claiming they were protesting Paramount subsidiary CBS’s alleged “alignment with Trump and the far-right agenda outlined in Project 2025.” 14

Funding

Extinction Rebellion US (XR US) solicits donations through the left-of-center Action Network donation platform, claiming that “all donations are tax-deductible.” 15 However, the only Internal Revenue Service listing for Extinction Rebellion US is for a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization of that name, which had its nonprofit tax status revoked in 2021 for not filing required Form 990 annual reports for three straight years. 16 Neither the Action Network nor XR US websites identify what registered charitable nonprofit is receiving donations made through that channel.  15  1

The Internal Revenue Service does list the Washington, D.C. local XR US affiliate Extinction Rebellion DC as a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit in good standing. 17  Its donation page carries the disclaimer, “We hate capitalism too, and we wish it weren’t the case, but we need money to keep protesting.” “ 18

References

  1. “Extinction Rebellion Us.” Extinction Rebellion US. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://extinctionrebellion.us/.
  2. “Demands & Principles.” Extinction Rebellion US. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://extinctionrebellion.us/demands-principles.
  3. Dembicki, Geoff. “A Debate over Racism Has Split One of the World’s Most Famous Climate Groups.” VICE, July 27, 2024. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-debate-over-racism-has-split-one-of-the-worlds-most-famous-climate-groups/.
  4. “Extinction Rebellion: The story behind the activist group.” BBC. December 21, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-46626582/extinction-rebellion-the-story-behind-the-activist-group
  5. Raymond, Robert. “Striking at the End of the World.” The Baffler, March 25, 2019. https://thebaffler.com/latest/striking-at-the-end-of-the-world-raymond.
  6. “We Quit.” Extinction Rebellion UK, December 31, 2022. https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2022/12/31/we-quit/.
  7. Pashankar, Sana. “Extinction Rebellion Quit ‘disruption.’ Its Tactics Live On.” Bloomberg Law, December 14, 2023. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/extinction-rebellion-quit-disruption-its-tactics-live-on.
  8. “Climate Groups to Shut Down Washington D.C. With Mass Nonviolent Acts of Civil Disobedience.” ExtinctionRebellion.us, September 11, 2019. https://extinctionrebellion.us/press-release-08-28-2019.
  9. Thompson, Madeleine, and Dakin Andone. “NYPD Arrests 66 People at a Climate Protest Outside the New York Times Offices.” CNN, June 24, 2019. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/22/us/extinction-rebellion-new-york-times-arrests/index.html.
  10. Ramakrishnan, Jayati. “Case against 5 Who Built Garden on Train Tracks to Block Oil Train Ends in Mistrial.” The Oregonian, March 1, 2020. https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/02/case-against-5-who-built-garden-on-train-tracks-to-block-oil-train-ends-in-mistrial.html.
  11. Dewberry, Sarah. “At Least 20 Environmental Protesters Arrested at Massachusetts Airport, Police Say.” CNN, April 20, 2024. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/20/us/massachusetts-hanscom-airport-protest/index.html.
  12. Watson, Michelle, Steve Almasy, and Kevin Dotson. “Climate Protesters Disrupt Play at 18th Hole of PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship.” CNN, June 24, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/23/sport/protesters-disrupt-travelers-championship.
  13. Celona, Larry, Joe Marino, and Amanda Woods. “Climate Protester Arrested after Spray Painting over Presidential Insignia at Trump Tower.” New York Post, April 24, 2025. https://nypost.com/2025/04/23/us-news/climate-protester-arrested-after-spray-painting-over-presidential-insignia-at-trump-tower/.
  14. Lilly, Devin. “Activists Disrupt CBS Headquarters.” Extinction Rebellion NYC, September 16, 2025. https://www.xrebellion.nyc/news/activists-disrupt-paramount-hedquarters.
  15. “Support Extinction Rebellion Us!” Action Network. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-xr-us/.
  16. “Tax Exempt Organization Search Details for EIN 83-2656566” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/.
  17. “Extinction Rebellion DC.” ProPublica. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/844519479.
  18. “Donate.” Extinction Rebellion DC. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.xrdc.org/donate.
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