German Mud Wizard at Lützerath Anti-Coal Protest

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About

German Mud Wizard at Lützerath Anti-Coal Protest, also known simply as the German Mud Wizard or the Lützerath Monk, is a viral video of a man in a brown, wizard-like robe, nicknamed the "Mud Wizard," effortlessly walking around in a thick puddle of mud at an anti-coal protest outside of Lützerath, Germany as police officers in riot gear try to help free cops who are stuck in the mud. At one point after a police officer is pulled free, the mud wizard pushes another cop into the mud after he throws his cardboard sign. The clip went viral in January 2023, inspiring fan art and memes about the mud wizard.

Origin

On January 14th, 2023, German activist Martin Lejeune posted a video of a clash between protesters and German police in riot gear about 5.6 miles outside of Lützerath (who were protesting the demolition of the village of Lützerath in order to expand a coal mine)^[1] to YouTube,^[2] garnering over 80,000 views in three days. Around the 3:15-minute mark, the police move forward into a thick puddle of mud, with several getting stuck. The camera pans to a man in a brown wizard robe holding a sign. The mud wizard walks effortlessly through the mud around the officer as other police try to help pull them out. At around the 4:20-minute mark, the wizard pushes another police officer into the mud after the first one is freed. The crowd cheers after he pushes the officer. On the same day, Twitter^[3] user @_maxgranger posted the isolated clip of the mud wizard, writing, "cops defending coal mine get stuck in mud #Luetzerath," garnering over 97,000 likes and 11 million views in three days.

That day, January 14th, the Twitter^[4] account @MonchLutzi was opened, claiming to be the mud wizard. Previously, the mud wizard was also known as the "mud monk" and notably appeared at a 2018 protest against the building of an airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes in France. His appearance was reported on by Le Monde^[5] that year (additional photo shown below).

Spread

Additional photos of the mud wizard were posted online over the following days, along with memes and fan art depicting him. On January 15th, 2023, Twitter^[6] user @ItsGoingClown posted a photo of the mud wizard, garnering over 3,400 likes in two days (shown below, left). On the same day, Twitter^[7] user @JJadxofficial posted fan art of the wizard, garnering over 60,000 likes in the same span of time (shown below, right). The mud wizard was reported on by sites including the Telegraph^[8] and Insider^[9] that day.

On the same day, January 15th, the video was also posted to /r/facepalm,^[10] titled, "german riot police defeated and humiliated by some kind of mud wizard," garnering over 142,000 upvotes in two days. On January 16th, the video was then featured in YouTuber^[11] Daily Dose of Internet's video, garnering over 3.3 million views in a day (shown below). On January 17th, a Redditor posted a screenshot of a YouTube thumbnail featuring the mud wizard to /r/Bossfight,^[12] garnering over 12,000 upvotes in under 24 hours.

Greta Thunberg Arrested In Germany

Greta Thunberg Arrested In Germany, also known as Greta Thunberg Being Carried by Police, refers to reports that climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested at a January 2023 protest outside of Lützerath, Germany against the demolition of the town of Lützerath to expand a coal mine. Thunberg's arrest was reported on January 17th and went viral alongside photographs of her being arrested, particularly one in which she's smiling while being carried away by German police that later became an exploitable image macro. The arrest inspired memes, some referencing Andrew Tate and the false rumor that he was arrested as a result of posting a video criticizing Thunberg in which he showed a pizza box from a Romanian pizza chain. Following her arrest, rumors also spread online that Thunberg faked the arrest or that it was staged.