Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been accused of staging her detention at a German coal mine protest after video surfaced showing the 20-year-old seemingly laughing with officers.
During the alleged photo, the video shows Thunberg smiling and laughing with another protester. An officer, dressed in combat gear and a helmet, has Thunberg on his arm while another stands beside her with his hands clasped. A third officer joins in the laughter.
Thunberg becomes calm and serious as a photographer takes pictures of her and the standing officers. A large line of riot officers can be seen in the background, standing in a row some distance away. Several photographers swarm around Thunberg as two officers then lead them to a parking lot.
“The fake arrest of #GretaThunberg”, the Twitter account TVisCOOL! wrote, first shared the clip, which has been viewed more than 6.2 million times as of Wednesday morning. “All ready for the cameras.”
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“Greta staged her arrest for attention,” tweeted Oli London, a YouTuber who gained recognition in conservative circles for sharing his story about detransition, to his more than 62,000 followers. “She is a puppet of the WEF and George Soros.” They laugh at the world. Greta, you’re a terrible actress, try to be at least a little more convincing next time you get arrested.”
Thunberg’s critics included Ian Miles Cheong, who wrote to his more than 450,000 Twitter followers: “Yes, the arrest of Greta Thunberg was staged for the mainstream media.”
Police in western Germany carried Thunberg and other protesters away from the edge of an open-pit coal mine on Tuesday, where they were demonstrating against the ongoing demolition of a village to make way for the mine’s expansion, German news agency DPA reported.
Thunberg was among hundreds of people who resumed anti-mining protests in several locations in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia a day after the last two climate activists, who had been hiding in a tunnel under the village of Lützerath, left the site .
Police officers carry Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg away from the edge of the Garzweiler II brown coal opencast mine during a protest by climate activists after the eviction of Luetzerath, Germany, Tuesday January 17, 2023. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
The German government last year reached a deal with energy company RWE that would allow it to demolish the village in exchange for ending coal use by 2030 instead of 2038. Both argue that coal is needed to ensure Germany’s energy security, which is being hurt by the cut in supplies of Russian gas due to the war in Ukraine.
But environmentalists say bulldozing Luetzerath will result in huge greenhouse gas emissions. Germany is expected to miss its ambitious climate targets for the second year in a row.
A police spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity as is customary in Germany, said he could not reveal details about Thunberg or anyone else who attended the protest due to privacy concerns, The Associated Press reported.
Police officers with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on the edge of the Garzweiler II opencast lignite mine during a protest action by climate activists after the eviction of Lützerath, Germany, Tuesday, January 17, 2023. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)
In response to the video, freelance journalist Danny Armstrong further claimed, “The footage showing Greta Thunberg’s arrest in Germany for peaceful protest was staged for cameras.”
“Here she is laughing and joking with the police and crew,” he wrote, sharing the video. “Timely reminder that the Greta Thunberg project is a well-coordinated, well-funded crime against climate change.”
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British commentator Adam Brooks, who has more than 272,000 Twitter followers, wrote: “This is not an arrest, this is a PR opportunity to make headlines around the world…
‘[P]Or young Greta being marched through by a big, horrible police force until you watch this video.”
“As staged, never believe everything you see in the MSM,” he added.
Police officers stand in front of a group of demonstrators, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, middle below, on the edge of the Garzweiler II opencast lignite mine during a protest action by climate activists after the eviction of Lützerath, Germany, Tuesday, 1. 17., 2023. (Roberto Pfeil/ dpa via AP)
“Guess who got caught protesting the coal mines? Of course, @GretaThunberg! Does this look staged to you?” French journalist Alexandra Lavoie of Rebel News tweeted.
Amid Germany’s heated coal debate, the European Union on Tuesday pushed ahead with a major cleantech industry project aimed at boosting its plans for a greener future as the 27-nation bloc pursues the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Elsewhere in western Germany, dozens of climate activists taped to a main street in the western German city of Cologne and to a state government building in Düsseldorf. According to the police and RWE, a group of around 120 activists also occupied the coal railway tracks to the Neurath power plant near Rommerskirchen.
Those who refused to leave the tracks were taken away, the DPA reported. In addition, several people occupied a huge excavator at the Inden colliery, while hundreds of other demonstrators joined a demonstration near Lützerath. The village itself has been evacuated and cordoned off by the police in recent days.
Activists block tracks to the RWE lignite-fired power plant Neurath II After the evacuation of L’tzerath, coal opponents continued their protests in several places in North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday morning. (Oliver Berg/dpa via AP)
Again there were some clashes with the police. According to the DPA, several activists ran to the Garzweiler opencast mine. They were standing on the edge of the mine, which has a sharp edge. Police said it was dangerous and people were forbidden to stay there. Police in nearby Aachen said a group of about 50 protesters came dangerously close to the edge of the mine and refused to leave despite being asked. All of the people in this group had to be carried away from the edge of the mine and then held temporarily to establish their identities, police said. Crime scene photos showed that Thunberg was one of those the officers took away.
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Thunberg herself tweeted about her alleged detention. “Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested against the expansion of a coal mine in Germany. We were surrounded by police and then arrested but released later that evening,” she wrote. “Climate protection is not a crime.”
On January 11, the police and RWE began clearing demonstrators from Lützerath, removing roadblocks, cutting down tree houses and bulldozing buildings. Activists have been invoking the symbolic meaning of Lützerath for years, and thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday against the demolition of the village by RWE to expand the Garzweiler colliery.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.