Lützerath, Germany was a small town located about 50 miles west of Frankfurt. It has been empty of residents for some time after government ministers reached an agreement that would allow an open pit coal mine to expand in the area. Here’ a video showing how close the village is to the current mine.

Incredible drone footage from @TBIJ of #Luetzerath, where climate activists including @Luisamneubauer and @GretaThunberg are protesting the expansion of a coal mine pic.twitter.com/1azCRxZj8e

— Jack Graham (@jacktgraham) January 14, 2023

Environmentalists turned the town into a cause celebre’ and have occupied it for several years in an attempt to block the expansion of the mine. Their goal was to keep the coal in the ground. The protesters were especially angry because the deal to destroy the abandoned town had been made by members of the Green party.

From across the country a broad slice of the Greens’ base turned out in wind, rain and mud in support of a small cluster of abandoned farms and houses called Lützerath. The hamlet in North Rhine-Westphalia is to be wiped from the map to make way for an extension of the Garzweiler opencast coal pit, a move the Greens have supported as part of a compromise deal.

“I voted the Greens and I will never, ever do [so again],” said David Dresen, from the neighboring village of Kuckum. “We have to stop this mine because it’s destroying my life. Since 30 years, it’s been destroying all my family’s lives. It’s destroying our fields, our rivers; it’s destroying our groundwater.”

Of course it’s no secret why the Green party changed its tune on Lützerath as well as other issues. Russia has pulled the rug out from under the Germany economy by shutting off the gas supply last year. Germany has been forced to look for other supplies of energy which led to the Greens reversing course on nuclear energy and the expanded use of coal. In short, the Green party has accommodated reality and the protesters have not.

Starting last Wednesday police moved in to clear out the protesters.

Selten so viel Polizei gesehen: Mit Deeskalation hat das hier wenig zu tun. #LuetziBleibt #LuetzerathUnraeumbar pic.twitter.com/oOtgfD5OkW

— Timon Dzienus (@Dzienus) January 11, 2023

On Jan 11, German police clashed with climate protesters over control of the village of Luetzerath. It's slated to be torn down to accommodate the expansion of a nearby coal mine. Germany's schizophrenic energy strategy remains dysfunctional. Take a look:pic.twitter.com/mpuhIG2d96

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 11, 2023

When police moved in earlier this week to remove violent illegal occupiers at the #Luetzerath autonomous zone in western Germany, they were attacked with firebombs & arson attacks. #Antifa are among the rioters & have been assaulting press as well. pic.twitter.com/QodMS58zKp

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) January 15, 2023

The protesters had created shacks and tree houses on the site and had vowed to stay there no matter what.

They barricaded themselves in a complex of barns and other structures. They erected and occupied tall watchtowers. They carved out a tunnel network. They nested in the branches of 100-year-old trees.

But the clearing, which started Wednesday, proved to be less dramatic than some had feared. A few firecrackers were heard, and some stones and bits of food were thrown (it turned out that activists had stockpiled too much). But for the most part, the standoff ended peacefully, almost businesslike. By Friday, the bulk of the activists were gone, some leaving of their own accord, some carried out by police officers, with just a few stragglers left in a few hard-to-reach places.

As the police moved in, a last push of protesters showed up to oppose them, including Greta Thunberg. She arrived last Friday.

Climate strike week 230. We are currently in Lützerath, a German village threatened to be demolished for an expansion of a coal mine. People have been resisting for years. Join us here at 12 or a local protest tomorrow to demand that #LützerathBleibt !#ClimateStrike pic.twitter.com/hGrCK6ZQew

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 13, 2023

She gave a little speech.

"Germany is really embarrassing itself" – @GretaThunberg in #Lützerath

▶️ https://t.co/PEb5bP8Vap

We need to keep the carbon in the ground. #EndCoal @LuetziBleibt pic.twitter.com/RBMEzWuWlw

— @[email protected] (@parents4future) January 13, 2023

Saturday, thousands of protesters tried to march back into the town but were stopped by police.

On Saturday, an estimated 15,000 climate activists, including Greta Thunberg, staged a march in the area, with police using water cannons and nightsticks to prevent protesters from charging the site, even though by then the village was virtually empty and many of its trees already felled. Ms. Thunberg had also visited the village on Friday afternoon.

I’m not sure where the NY Times came up with 15,000 but Reuters reported the crowd was about a third of that.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg and an estimated 6,000 people marched through mud and rain to protest against the expansion of a coal mine near Luetzerath in Germany https://t.co/Vowdky7gWk pic.twitter.com/sDBmBrmPRj

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 15, 2023

Thunberg made another speech.

What a powerful speech from @GretaThunberg!

‘When governments and cooperations fail like they are doing now, people are stepping up. The fact that all of you are here, is a sign of hope.’#LuetziBleibt #AlleDoerferBleiben pic.twitter.com/KVqKzl8t08

— Maarten de Zeeuw (@maarten_dezeeuw) January 14, 2023

There were some Antifa goons on hand who attacked a journalist who was filming them.

At the autonomous zone in #Luetzerath, Germany by militant leftists, #Antifa & climate extremists, Antifa surrounded and attacked journalists. The violent occupation has been praised by leftists & Greta Thunberg for stopping a coal mine expansion. pic.twitter.com/MuSAVJZ81C

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) January 15, 2023

At some point some in the crowd tried to shove their way past a police line. It didn’t go well for them.

Gewalt gegen die Polizei
Der sogenannte friedliche Protest in #Lützerath pic.twitter.com/C0rryeJO9F

— Fairness im Rheinischen Braunkohlerevier (@FairnessB) January 15, 2023

Police shoved a group of protesters out of the area, including Thunberg.

Die Polizeigewalt heute in #Lützertah war unfassbar.

Hier werden @GretaThunberg @Luisamneubauer und andere von der Polizei geschubst – und die stehen da einfach nur friedlich rum.

Was soll das @Polizei_NRW_AC?! pic.twitter.com/1uBuejL00W

— Timon Dzienus (@Dzienus) January 14, 2023

The protesters’ watchtower didn’t last long.

Der Polizeichef wusste, dass das Architektur-Museum den historischen Turm in #Lützerath als Stück Zeitgeschichte haben wollte. Es war ihm egal. pic.twitter.com/cSimW2uNy5

— Emily Laquer (@EmilyLaquer) January 16, 2023

So the two year occupation ends in a total loss for the environmentalists who were betrayed by their own party.

What climate activists and others considered to be the betrayal of Lützerath became a source of controversy for Mr. Habeck, an otherwise popular Green leader whom critics accuse of compromising the party’s environmental principles now that it is in power. He nonetheless defended the decision to extend the use of coal.

“I also believe that climate protection and protest need symbols,” Mr. Habeck said this past week at a news conference in Berlin. “But the empty settlement Lützerath, where no one lives anymore, is in my view the wrong symbol.”…

“Even if the village is gone,” said Saskia Meyer, 36, a nutritionist who spent months commuting between Lützrath and Berlin, “it will live on in our hearts.”

It may live on in their hearts but it won’t exist anymore. Like the battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline, this is another case where the environmentalists fought the law and the law won.