Greta Thunberg was arrested on January 17 after protesting the expansion of a coal mine in Lützerath, Germany. Thunberg and other protesters have taken shelter in Lützerath, where they live in homes vacated by its former residents who were uprooted by the mine. Greta was released later that day. 

The mine is for coal, specifically Lignite, the most polluting version of the most polluting fossil fuel (Rachel Ramirez, CNN). The destruction of Lützerath is also an essential factor in the protests. With the protestors taking residence in former residents’ abandoned homes, they are only a short distance from the mine.

The protestors were arrested after they rushed to the ledge of the mine. Officials were concerned that the fast-moving weight of a large number of protestors could set the ground in motion after the soil was moistened by recent rainfall. After police warned them the protestors were removed from the scene since their safety was in jeopardy according to Reuters. 

Greta was released later that day after an identity. She tweeted several times later that day to alert her followers and fellow protestors that she was prepared to keep fighting to keep the carbon in the ground and that her mission to slow climate change will continue.