Was Greta Thunberg’s arrest in Germany staged?

Rating

Claim

The fake “arrest” of Greta Thunberg in Germany today. It’s all a theater 🎭

Tweet Link | Archive Link

Explanation

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish born climate activist who rose to international fame when she staged a school strike and protested outside the Swedish legislature (Riksdag) for pressurizing the Swedish Government to adhere to the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions. She has been involved in other controversies when she commented in 2020 that the NEET exams for medical courses be postponed due to the pandemic. In 2021, Greta Thunberg’s support to the farmers’ protest against the new farm laws led to her effigies being burnt by the supporters of the Government.

Now, Greta Thunberg had visited to Germany to protest with other activists against the demolition of a village to accommodate the expansion of the Garzweiler 2 open cast coal mine which is located approximately 9 km (5.6 miles) from the village of Luetzerath. During the protest, Greta and other protesters were arrested by the local police and the videos of the arrest surfaced in social media.

Using some of the arrest videos, it is being claimed that Greta’s arrest was staged and many even drew parallels with the arrest of US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) which was also alleged to be staged.

Real Heroes don’t have to fake their arrest like Greta Thunberg and AOC.

— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) January 18, 2023

What’s the truth?

Many climate change deniers and political commentators have used the videos of Greta Thunberg smiling when she is apprehended by the Police whilst photographers are clicking pictures to claim that the arrest was staged.

However, we found a BBC article in which the German Police officials denied such a charge. A spokesperson for the local Police department told the BBC, “We would never give ourselves to make such recordings”, categorically denying such theories of staging the arrest.

The arrest of Greta Thunberg was linked to the arrest of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) which was also claimed to be staged when she was protesting for the abortion rights of women, against the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

It was fact-checked by the USA Today which concluded that AOC was indeed arrested and fined. Similarly, Greta Thunberg too was arrested and was later released the same day. Greta herself has posted a tweet.

Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested the expansion of a coal mine in Germany. We were kettled by police and then detained but were let go later that evening.

Climate protection is not a crime.#LuetziBleibt #LuetziLebt #KeepItInTheGround #ClimateJustice

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 18, 2023

Conclusion

Several social media posts claiming that the arrest of Greta Thunberg was staged is false. The German police too denied the claims.

Report Article

Please complete the required fields.

Your Name (required)

Email (required)

Reason (required)
This article contains incorrect information. This article contains spam. This article contains broken link. This article contains Copyrighted content. Other issues.

Description (required)

Submit