Greta Thunberg was removed by police from a blockade of an oil facility on Monday, hours after being fined by a Swedish court for a similar offence.
Ms Thunberg, 20, staged a roadblock alongside activists from Reclaim the Future at the oil terminal in the southern Swedish city of Malmö.
She had hours earlier admitted to a previous protest at the site last month but denied guilt, saying the fight against the fossil fuel industry was a form of self-defence because of the existential and global threat of the climate crisis.
Speaking to reporters after being fined 2,500 kronor (£187) by a Swedish court, she said: “We cannot save the world by playing by the rules.”
According to the Sydsvenskan newspaper, Ms Thunberg told the court: “I believe that we are in an emergency that threatens life, health and property.
“Countless people and communities are at risk both in the short term and in the long term.”
Charges were initially brought against Thunberg and several other youth activists from the Reclaim the Future movement for refusing a police order to disperse after blocking road access to the terminal.
The activist, who began her school strikes in protest at inaction over climate change at the age of 15 in Stockholm, rose to international prominence through the Fridays for Future youth climate movement.
“If the court sees our actions of self-defence as a crime, that’s how it is," said Irma Kjellström, a spokesperson for Reclaim the Future who was also present at the June protest.
She added that activists “have to be exactly where the harm is being done.”
