Dutch police arrested 270 climate activists on Saturday, July 4, 2026, after members of Extinction Rebellion briefly blocked a parallel lane and attempted a mass demonstration on the A12 highway near Utrecht.
The Utrecht municipality had prohibited the highway demonstration.
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Mayor Sharon Dijksma designated Domplein square as an alternative location, but protesters defied the order and marched toward the A12.
To prevent major traffic disruption, authorities deployed approximately 300 officers, including riot police units. They intercepted demonstrators on the shoulder before they could enter the main lanes.
Among the detainees were 21 individuals inside vehicles that successfully blocked the parallel road for under an hour.
They remain held at a local police station, while the other removed protesters were transported away and subsequently released.
A female demonstrator positioned on the grass beside the highway explained her motivations to RTV Utrecht.
"I am participating because there must be an end to subsidizing fossil fuels," she said.
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She criticized financial support provided to major industrial corporations amidst ongoing environmental shifts. "We have seen how the climate is changing recently, we have finally experienced it firsthand.
And still. Tata Steel is one of the most polluting companies.
Think also of Shell. Our government gives them tax advantages, and we call that fossil subsidies."
According to RTV Utrecht, this incident represents the second major demonstration by Extinction Rebellion on the A12 within a few months.
A previous protest on April 25 involved hundreds of activists near De Meern and resulted in roughly 400 arrests.
A counter-protest involving farmers driving tractors also materialized on the nearby Laagravenseweg.
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Participants attempted to block the climate activists in the median strip before police intervened to separate the opposing factions.
