Greta Thunberg hauled to London police cell for sitting silently on floor with sign

Say what you want about Greta Thunberg, but you can’t deny she’s not putting her money where her mouth is.

It would have been easy and lucrative for her to turn her young activist stardom into controlled media opposition. Sure, she would continue to advocate for the environment, but within the safe confines of vetted speeches, opinion pieces in newspapers, and appearing as a talking head whenever news networks need an environmentalist viewpoint.

But she chose the harder road, repeatedly putting herself in physical danger while standing up for her beliefs. 2025 has already been a rough year for her, seeing her repeatedly attempting to break Israel’s artificial famine in Gaza and being arrested and subsequently tortured by Israeli authorities.

Now, to cap off the year, she’s been arrested once again by London’s Metropolitan Police. Yesterday Thunberg appeared at a protest to support hunger strikers imprisoned for taking part in action against Israel as part of the banned Palestine Action group.

Watch what you say in London!

BREAKING: Swedish activist Great Thunberg has been arrested in London after holding a sign that reads: “I support Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide.” Solidarity with sister Greta, who is always on the side of those fighting for freedom. ✊ pic.twitter.com/UWF0j3uUHg

— 𝕃𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕠 𝕃𝕦𝕝𝕫 (@altrella_l) December 23, 2025

In the United Kingdom, it’s now illegal to express any support for Palestine Action. This is regularly protested against, with the cops hauling away hundreds of people for peacefully holding up signs saying “I support Palestine Action”.

Thunberg didn’t even do that, simply holding a sign reading “I support the Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide”, which means she technically isn’t saying “I support Palestine Action”. But that was enough to see London cops slap cuffs around her wrists and drag her off to a jail cell. Cops say:

“A 22-year-old woman also attended the scene. She has been arrested for displaying an item (in this case a placard) in support of a proscribed organisation (in this case Palestine Action) contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.’

It’s unclear what’ll actually happen to Thunberg. She was released from custody soon after her arrest on bail and freed to go. As of writing there remain around 1,600 people who’ve been charged with this offence, though its unclear whether they’ll ever end up in court as the government is currently fighting a legal case in London’s High Court over whether this law is just.

But whatever the law says, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to stop Thunberg. You can mock her, beat her, cuff her and put her in a cell – and all evidence suggests she’ll just keep coming. Again, say what you will about her views, but she always puts the cause first and her personal welfare second. What else could you want in a young activist?