Activists Arrested in Auto Show Protest

Police on Saturday arrested two environmental activists who scaled a Los Angeles Convention Center tower to hang a banner accusing an auto company of destroying the rain forest.

The Rainforest Action Network staged the protest as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show was taking place inside the convention center. Three other members of the environmental group were cited for trespassing, police said.

After scaling the building, protesters unfurled a large banner that said: “Welcome to the Show, Boycott Mitsubishi--World’s 1 Rainforest Destroyer.”

“Two of them were up there trying to hang up a sign while the other three people were down below cheering them on,” said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Jay Moberly.

Kim Custer, spokesperson for Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, said the parent firm has a trading company that is separate from the auto company. “They are involved in trading of materials in Burma involving lumber and have very limited forestry,” Custer said. “This is a fund-raising ploy raised by a group of environmentalists who don’t have their facts straight.”