Moment cops cut eco-warrior Disney heiress Abigail Disney’s arm out of pipe before arresting her over private airport blocade

• The 63-year-old social activist was among dozens of eco-protesters who on Friday blockaded the regional East Hampton Airport in Wainscott
• She looked apprehensive during dramatic clips showing cops using power tools to cut her arm free from thick plastic piping just inches from her face 
• Disney revealed she had her fingerprints and mugshot taken for the first time

Disney heiress Abigail Disney was arrested after joining climate activists blockading a ritzy New York airport in a protest over private jets – and cops had to use heavy duty power tools to cut her free from thick plastic piping as she lay on the ground.

The 63-year-old social activist was among dozens of eco-protesters who on Friday obstructed the regional East Hampton Airport in Wainscott, which services private jets only. 

The demonstration involved groups including New York Communities for Change, Planet Over Profit and Sunrise Movement NYC. 

In a press release, the groups said they were standing against the ‘exclusive vacations of wealthy fossil fuel investors and polluters driving the climate crisis’. 

Dramatic footage captured by other protesters shows the granddaughter of Roy O Disney – who co-founded The Walt Disney Company – joined to 12 other people via a long chain of white plastic pipes encasing their arms. 

Disney was among 13 eco-protesters who on Friday were arrested for blockading the regional East Hampton Airport in Wainscott, which services private jets only

Disney, who is worth an estimated $120 million, was filmed at eye-level as she lay on the ground while cops used power tools to cut her from the thick plastic piping, which the group had secured with layers of silver duct tape

The Hollywood-born activist is third in the chain of people, which stretches across the entrance to the airport at 173 Daniels Hole Road. 

Several more protesters stood behind them chanting ‘stand up, fight back’ – some with pitchforks, and others playing steel drums.

Disney, who is worth an estimated $120 million, was filmed at eye-level as she lay on the ground while cops used power tools to cut her from the thick plastic piping, which the group had secured with layers of silver duct tape. 

One cop holds the piping down over her right arm, while another uses the tool to drill through the plastic. 

Disney does not resist, and looks apprehensive as the tool loudly shudders through the casing inches from her face. 

She was later handcuffed by police and led into the back of a van, while the din of drills and protesters continuing their chant reverberated in the background. 

Writing on Twitter two days after her arrest, Disney said police took her fingerprints and a mugshot. 

‘At 63 I still had not popped my fingerprint/mug shot cherry so I did this,’ Disney said, sharing a link to an article about the protest. 

‘Because the last thing this planet needs is billionaires spewing greenhouse gases to get to their palatial beach homes. Just so wrong.’

New York Communities for Change said Disney was among 13 protesters arrested over the demo, as they shared posts with the hashtag ‘#StormtheHamptons’ on social media.   

‘It’s time to ban private jets and tax the rich so we can all live,’ the group said. 

‘The 1% (richest people on the planet) must slash climate-heating pollution from their businesses, investments, and assets.

‘They should fund climate policies that invest in good, union jobs and infrastructure for our communities to go to 100% clean energy.’  

The 63-year-old activist was later handcuffed by police and led into the back of a van, while the din of drills and protesters continuing their chant reverberated in the background

The demonstration involved groups including New York Communities for Change, Planet Over Profit and Sunrise Movement NYC. In a press release, the groups said they were standing against the ‘exclusive vacations of wealthy fossil fuel investors and polluters’

The Hollywood-born activist was third in the chain of people, which stretched across the entrance to the airport at 173 Daniels Hole Road. Several more protesters stood behind them chanting ‘stand up, fight back’ – some with pitchforks, and others playing steel drums

The group called on New York State Governor Kathy Hochul to ‘tax the rich’. 

Hochul, a Democrat, was in New York City over the weekend giving an update on the extreme weather impacting the wider state, while on Monday she announced statewide air quality warnings.

‘We are in danger of seeing record rainfall again,’ she told the weekend conference. ‘Every part of the eastern side of New York is under a flood watch at the moment.’

On Monday, Hochul urged New Yorkers to ‘take necessary steps to stay safe’ amid air quality which was ranked as ‘unhealthy’ for most of the region due to pollution levels. 

Disney, the daughter of Patricia Ann and Roy E. Disney, and granddaughter of Roy O. Disney who co-founded The Walt Disney Company in 1923, is known for her activism and documentary-making. 

She has focused on a range of issues throughout her career, including women’s rights, and tackling New York poverty.  

Last year, she made headlines for calling the American dream a ‘fairy tale’ in a documentary which used the Walt Disney Company to explore ‘nightmare’ wage gaps in America.

In ‘The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,’ which is co-directed by Kathleen Hughes, Disney used the company that made her a millionaire to explore what she views as America’s broken economic system. 

She has also made documentaries herself, including the widely-acclaimed Pray the Devil Back to Hell, which explored the critical role women played in bringing peace to war torn Liberia. 

The documentary led to a fully fledged feature for PBS, Women, War & Peace, which aired in 2011 and looked at the role of women in war in the modern age.

Since 1991, Disney together with her husband Pierre Hauser set up The Daphne Foundation to fund programs that attempt to deal with the causes and consequences of poverty in New York City.

In 2008, Disney launched Peace is Loud, a nonprofit that showcases women leaders.

Pictured: Disney participating in a panel discussion during the annual Milken Institute Global Conference at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 29, 2019 in Beverly Hills

Disney did not resist arrest on Friday, and she later tweeted that police took her fingerprints and a mugshot for the first time 

In 2011 she visited the Congo and in 2015 the border between North and South Korea in an attempt to show solidarity with the women of those countries.

Disney is also part of a group called Patriotic Millionaires, joining with a number of other ultra-wealthy people who support raising taxes on the rich. Disney’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $120 million.

During the pandemic, she wrote in an opinion piece criticizing practices by wealthy individuals who seek to reduce their tax burden and protecting their wealth across generations.

She slammed practices including ‘offsetting income with losses in unrelated businesses; structuring assets to grow rather than generate income, then borrowing against those growing assets for cash needs; and deducting interest payments and state taxes from taxable income’.

Disney has even criticized former Disney CEO Bob Iger’s compensation package. In 2018, Iger earned a $66 million package, while in 2019, with his compensation package was estimated to be approximately $35 million.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post  that same year, she urged for pay equity reform.  

Disney has focused on a range of issues throughout her career, including women’s rights, and tackling New York poverty. Pictured: Disney attends The Women’s Media center 2018 Women’s Media Awards at Capitale on November 1, 2018 in New York City

In July 2019, Disney criticized working conditions at Disneyland and in 2020 she publicly criticized the corporation for furloughing hundreds of thousands of low paid workers during the coronavirus pandemic 

Earlier in 2022, Disney spoke out against current Disney CEO Bob Chapek after he refused to make any statement on anti-LGBT legislation in Florida signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. 

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