Climate Activists Dupe Scott Walker Into Posing With Fake Koch Brothers Check

Activists flip over a harmless "Walker 4 president" sign to reveal an imitation $900 million check.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) mistakenly took a photo with two climate activists holding a novelty check for $900 million. The check was made to appear as if it had been signed by the billionaire Koch brothers as a contribution to the "Presidency."

Sabrina Siddiqui, a reporter for The Guardian, captured the moment:

Tyler McFarland and Giselle Hart of 350 Action, a climate advocacy group, approached Walker during a meet-and-greet in New Hampshire on Monday. They pretended to be fans of the candidate, telling him how "excited" they were that he was there and asking him to pose with a sign that said "Walker 4 president."

Walker initially loved the sign, but when it came time to take the picture, McFarland, 23, turned it over to reveal the fake check on the other side.

After McFarland presented the check to Walker, the governor declined to discuss it, saying that he was "going to talk to more voters."

View a video of Walker posing with the check here:

Members of 350 Action said they approached Walker because of his past association with Charles and David Koch. The brothers are funding conservative organizations that plan to spend approximately $900 million to support conservative candidates in the 2016 elections, as well as free-market think tanks, foundations and universities. "[Walker] is the most likely to receive funding from the Koch brothers in the same sense that he did when he was running for governor in Wisconsin,” said Kaity Thomson, 23, a New Hampshire native who is part of 350 Action.

"We feel that he is the most dangerous candidate on climate," she added. "We need to be taking that money out of politics and really bringing to light the amount of corruption that is in the fossil fuel industry."

350 Action is currently organizing "creative actions" in New Hampshire to ask candidates difficult questions about the reality of climate change, according to the group's website.

"We are trying to raise our voice in New Hampshire as a way to show that once we elect a candidate, they will need to answer to us as the people and as individuals on the issue of climate and climate justice," Thomson said.

On Monday, President Barack Obama formally announced his new efforts to combat climate change, which he described as "one of the key challenges in our lifetime."

Walker, a frequent critic of Obama's policies on the environment, said the president's remarks were "riddled with inaccuracies."

“President Obama's plan should be called the Costly Power Plan because it will cost hard-working Americans jobs and raise their energy rates,” Walker said in a statement. “It will be like a buzz saw on the nation's economy. I will stand up for American workers and stop the Costly Power Plan.”

Walker's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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