Greta Thunberg has been arrested multiple times for participating in civil disobedience-style protests, mainly involving blocking roads, buildings, or infrastructure during climate and proā€‘Palestinian actions, not for violent crimes.

Key recent arrest (Dec 2025, London)

  • In December 2025, Thunberg was arrested in London at a demonstration outside a company linked by activists to Israelā€‘related defence work.
  • She was there supporting members of the banned group Palestine Action who were on hunger strike in prison, holding a sign saying she opposed genocide and supported the prisoners.
  • Police said she was arrested and later released on bail after the protest, during which other activists sprayed red paint on the building and were held on suspicion of criminal damage.

Earlier arrest over same protest

  • In media coverage of the same London protest, police sources said she was held under terrorism legislation (Section 13 of the UK Terrorism Act 2000) because a placard was interpreted as showing support for a proscribed organisation.
  • Section 13 covers displaying articles or slogans that can be seen as supporting or promoting a banned group, which is why this arrest attracted a lot of legal and political debate.

Climate protest arrests

  • In October 2023 she was arrested in London during a Fossil Free London action targeting an oil industry summit at the Intercontinental Hotel.
  • Protesters blocked access to the venue; police had imposed conditions under Section 14 of the Public Order Act to prevent ā€œserious disruption,ā€ and arrested people who refused to move, including Thunberg, for breaching those conditions and obstructing the highway.
  • She has also been arrested or detained in Germany and Sweden during actions blocking coal operations and oil tankers, typically for refusing to obey police orders to leave.

Gaza war protest in Denmark

  • In September 2024, Thunberg was detained at a Gazaā€‘war protest at the University of Copenhagen.
  • Police said six people, including her, were being investigated for allegedly forcing entry into a building and blocking access as students protested against the war.

Pattern and context

  • Across these incidents, the common factors are nonā€‘violent direct action, blocking access, and displaying politically charged messages, which bring her into conflict with publicā€‘order, trespass, or terrorismā€‘related laws depending on the country.
  • Supporters see these arrests as part of a broader crackdown on peaceful protest, while critics argue that repeatedly defying police orders and supporting banned groups justifies legal action.

TL;DR: Greta Thunberg has been arrested for taking part in disruptive but nonā€‘violent protestsā€”blocking entrances, roads, or buildings and, most recently, holding a sign seen as supporting a banned proā€‘Palestinian group in Londonā€”not for conventional criminal offences.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.