Climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained by police during an environmental protest in Germany, authorities said on Tuesday.
Thunberg, 20, was seen being grabbed by the legs and arms by officers during a demonstration this week in Lützerath, a small village owned by the utility company RWE, reported SkyNews.
The settlement became a breeding ground for the German climate debate after it was cleared to make way for the expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine.
In response to a spokesman for the Aachen police, Thunberg was a part of a group of protesters who “stormed” the “steep and very dangerous” fringe of the open-pit mine.
Officers confirmed that the activist was subsequently kidnapped and is being held with other protesters for identification. No person has been arrested.
Tuesday’s detention is Thunberg’s second clash with the authorities since she joined the protests on Saturday. Photos from the demonstration show a Swede being held by the police wearing tactical gear.
In one other photo, Thunberg shows a thumbs up from contained in the bus.
Thunberg’s detention comes as a long-running debate in Germany over using coal has reached its peak due to the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Largely cut off from the Russian gas it normally relies on, the federal government wants to make use of lignite from the Garzweiler mine for short-term energy security.
Climate activists, nonetheless, argue that lignite is probably the most health-damaging type of coal and demand that the federal government stick with its previous goal of phasing out coal power.
The protesters moved into abandoned houses in Lützerath two years ago, arguing that razing the village to the bottom would release huge amounts of greenhouse gases from the fossil fuels they extract.
The LuetziBleibt group, or “Luetzi Is Staying”, reported earlier this month that about 200 people were still there.
The police have been attempting to remove the demonstrators for several weeks. Since mid-January, many have remained despite the demolition of buildings and the felling of makeshift treehouses.
Thunberg’s detention also got here shortly after authorities were apprehended intimidated by the so-called “mud wizard”, a protester dressed in the robes of a sorcerer who thrashed around as if casting spells in wet conditions.