Videos recorded by protesters or bystanders reveal acts against eco-extremists by frustrated members of the public, including violence including hair-pulling and punches thrown, as green activists continue shutting down roadways.
Press have dubbed a German woman the “brutal blonde” after a fair-haired lady showed she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty when taking on a group from the ‘Last Generation’ climate protest group last week, dragging a young person of indeterminate sex from the road twice. The footage has since gone viral on social media.
The protest in Bottrop, a suburb of Essen in west Germany saw traffic build up as a group of green activists sat in the road. Members of the public — possibly frustrated motorists — got invo,ved, with two men dragging a protester from the road by his arms with increasing enthusiasm as he repeatedly got back to his feet and returned to a sitting position in front of a truck.
Achtung Gewalt:
Von der Straße gezerrt & an den Haaren weggezogen!
❓ Sind wir diejenigen, gegen die sich gerichtet werden sollte, wenn wir uns friedlich auf die Straßen setzen, um darauf aufmerksam zu machen, dass die Zivilisation in der Klimakatastrophe versinken wird?
1/3 pic.twitter.com/I0rnq4eDTF
— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) July 14, 2023
Per a translation offered by Sky News, a woman — the ‘brutal blonde’ — also got involved, shouting: “Stand up! What is wrong with you? Are you insane? Look at this s**t. F*****g c***”, before dragging a protester by the hair from the street to the pavement. After the greenist returned to the road, the blonde again hauled the sitting campaigner away by the hair.
Per local media, one protester was “slightly injured” during the altercation and three protesters were arrested. Police are considering whether to pursue criminal charges against the protesters, and are reviewing the social media footage showing the public taking action against the protest and will also decide whether charges need to be laid against those who dragged the protesters as well.
Last Generation painted themselves as victims of the protest, writing in their statement “Are we the ones who should be targeted when we peacefully take to the streets to draw attention to the fact that civilization is sinking into climate catastrophe? Or shouldn’t we rather blame the government that breaks the law and sends us all into a life-threatening future?”.
As many predicted, a furious motorist punched and kicked a Just Stop Oil activist.
Tensions were always going to escalate when the Met Police leave it to citizens who have important places to be.
— Chris Rose (@ArchRose90) July 19, 2023
Similar scenes played out in the United Kingdom just today when activists from a similar organisation, Just Stop Oil, blocked a road in London and were attacked by a member of the public. Per claims in the Daily Mail, the sudden blockage of the road caused “a pregnant woman to crash her car”, so angering the boyfriend of the impacted individual that he went in with fists flying.
As stated, the activist who was punched by the man — knocking him to the ground — is already well known as a serial protester in the UK and caught headlines last month when he was bodily removed from an Ashes cricket match he was disrupting by star player Jonny Bairstow. Per a report in The Evening Standard, Just Stop Oil blocked roads in five locations across central London this morning.
In addition to the traffic stops, activists used paint-loaded fire extinguishers to vandalise the Department for Energy. The Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said they were causing “illegal criminal damage”.
🚨 BREAKING: Just Stop Oil Paint the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
This morning, 2 supporters of Just Stop Oil have painted the department responsible for issuing over 100 new oil and gas licences in the UK.
🖋️ Sign up to take action at https://t.co/7BzUVS02dZ pic.twitter.com/wQwHVKoN8K
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) July 19, 2023