OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained by German authorities during a climate protest.
The 20 year old was taken away as she joined with others in a protest against tearing down a local village to expand a nearby coal mine, Reuters reported.
She was detained briefly on Tuesday but then let go after an identity check.
“Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity,” an Aachen Police spokesperson said to Reuters.
Thunberg was held while protesting at the opencast coal mine of Garzweiler 2, some 9 km (5.6 miles) from the village of Luetzerath, after police warned that the group would be removed by force if they did not move away from the edge of the mine.
The village in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia is being cleared to allow for the expansion of the mine. The mine’s owner, RWE (RWEG.DE), agreed with the government that it could demolish Luetzerath in exchange for its faster exit from coal and the saving of five villages originally slated for destruction.
Activists have said Germany should not be mining any more lignite, or brown coal, and should focus on expanding renewable energy instead.
“This is a betrayal of present and future generations… Germany is one of the biggest polluters in the world and needs to be held accountable,” Thunberg said before joining the protest.
“The science is clear: we need to keep the carbon in the ground,” the 20-year-old, who is not a scientist, said.
Police posed with pictures with Thunberg for the media before taking her away, leading some to believe the arrest was staged.
Yes, the Greta Thunberg arrest was staged for the establishment media.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 17, 2023
In case you needed more evidence that Greta Thunberg is a grifter… https://t.co/DU2kiwbr4t
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) January 18, 2023
“So, it turns out Greta Thunberg’s arrest was as fake as the climate change cult she works for,” Charlie Kirk says.
Best evidence yet that we're living in a simulation?
Greta Thunberg, Brian Stelter, and Jewish Space Lasers are all trending.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 18, 2023
“The fake ‘arrest’ of Greta Thunberg in Germany today. It’s all a theater,” Dr. Eli David said.
The fake “arrest” of Greta Thunberg in Germany today. It's all a theater 🎭pic.twitter.com/7PbwgURHF5
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) January 17, 2023
In October Fox News host Greg Gutfeld did not hold back his disgust at his own network after it showed a video clip of climate activists defacing a famous painting in recent days with a can of soup, calling them “idiots” after “playing this crap.”
Gutfeld’s outburst came during a segment on “The Five” on Monday after a segment being introduced by liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov featured the clip of two Just Stop Oil activists — one with pink hair — tossing a can of tomato soup on Vincent Van Gogh’s famous “Sunflowers” painting at the National Gallery in London. The two activists were arrested, and officials at the museum said that while there was some minor damage to the frame, the art itself was unharmed as it is covered by a sheet of glass.
“Let’s not show it,” Gutfeld can be overheard saying off-camera. “Don’t show it.” Tarlov responded, “no, I don’t think we even have it,” though the clip began to play right after that, which set Gutfeld off, as he explained that the media amplifying the incident is why such stunts continue to happen.
“This is why it works!” Gutfeld replied. “This is why it works because we’re idiots because we play it. This is why these people are brilliant because you saw this originally at sporting events.”
Co-host Jeanine Pirro disagreed but Gutfeld cut her off. “Once … yes, this is a brilliant play,” he added. “We’re not supposed to play this crap. We’re amplifying their stupid silly message. But I get it. It’s fun to watch.”
“But it’s not hard to find out how they figured this out,” Gutfeld went on. “It all works with mass shootings as well. If you can just read the press, we’re suckers. We’ll just play the same thing, over and over and over again. Like when it was happening at sporting events. It happened once. Then it happened twice and then it kept happening. And then it stopped.”
He then explained that twenty years ago, so-called “streaking” was a thing at professional sporting events — running across the field of play naked. But, he explained, once networks stopped showing them, the streaking faded out as a fad.
“So, I thought that we weren’t going to play it, that’s really sucky,” Gutfeld added, going on to say that his solution for such incidents is the old adage “an eye for an eye for this crap.”
“We should be able to vandalize their belongings,” Gutfeld said. “Like, if they got a smartphone, which they all do … you confiscate, you step on it. That’s a couple of hundred bucks. Or you go to their house. You find out where they sleep and you just dump a bunch of milk in their house.”
Greg Gutfeld compares climate activists spilling milk on floors and streakers at sporting events to mass shootings.
"It’s not hard to find out how they figured this out. It all works with mass shootings as well. If you can just read the press, we're suckers!" pic.twitter.com/qxTXqKLCTJ
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 17, 2022
The ‘milk’ comment is in response to other young activists across Britain showing up at grocery stores recently and dumping containers of cow-produced milk out on the floor to promote natural alternatives.
“Because you know, I don’t like being played,” Gutfeld said. “That’s what they’re doing. They are playing the media on this … I’d hate to be their parents.”
