Jane Fonda returns to civil disobedience for climate change

Inspired by the climate activism of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, actor Jane Fonda said Friday that she is returning to civil disobedience nearly a half-century after she was last arrested at a protest.

Fonda, known for her opposition to the Vietnam War, was one of 17 climate protesters arrested Friday at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on charges of unlawful demonstration by what she called "extremely nice and professional" police. Fellow actor Sam Waterston was also in the group, which included many older demonstrators.

Now 81, Fonda said she plans to get arrested every Friday to advocate for urgent reduction in the use of fossil fuels. She hopes to encourage other older people to protest as well.

Getting arrested in 2019 poses some entirely new challenges, Fonda told The Associated Press in an interview.

These days, "they use white plastic things on your wrists instead of metal handcuffs, and that hurts more," she said.

"The only problem for me is I'm old," Fonda said. After her first arrest last week, she had trouble getting into the police vehicle because she was handcuffed behind her back and "had nothing to hang onto."

On Friday, Fonda emerged from a cluster of officers and stepped smartly into the police wagon, her hands cuffed in front of her.

"Thanks, Jane!" some of the protesters called out.

"What would you tell President Trump?" someone in the crowd yelled to her earlier, as she and other protesters stood on their platform in front of the Capitol.

"I wouldn't waste my breath," she shouted back, drawing laughter.

The rally drew at least a couple of hundred people, young and old.