Captain Paul Watson — an environmental activist and star of the TV show “Whale Wars” — was arrested in Greenland … and a video posted to his foundation’s X account captures the shocking moment.
His foundation — the Captain Paul Watson Foundation — posted a video explaining when they landed in Nuuk, Greenland, to refuel for their trip to the Northwest Passage to stop the Japanese whaling ship Kangei Maru.
This morning, Captain Paul Watson was arrested in Nuuk, Greenland by Danish Federal Police, who boarded the M/Y John Paul DeJoria as soon as it docked.
The crew stopped to refuel while heading into the Northwest Passage as part of #OpKangeiMaruour campaign aimed to… foto.twitter.com/ANWoRFiR42
— Captain Paul Watson Foundation 🐋🏴☠️ (@CaptPaulWatson) July 21, 2024
@CaptainPaulWatson
However, the foundation says that as soon as the ship docked, Danish federal police approached and arrested Watson.
Video released by the foundation shows officers leading Watson — who has long white hair and a bushy beard — off the ship and toward a police vehicle before driving him away.
The Associated Press — citing a police statement — confirmed that Watson had been arrested and that a district court would decide the extradition issue.
In the clip, it appears that one of the Danish police officers tells the team that they arrested Paul because of an international arrest warrant from Japan… and the foundation is convinced that the longer he stays in Greenland, the more likely he is to be extradited to Tokyo.
For those who don’t know… Watson has been an opponent of the whaling industry for years — damaging and sinking ships around the world since founding the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in the late 1970s. He is also a founding member of Greenpeace.
His story — and the stories of other prominent anti-whaling activists — were captured in the 2008-2015 series “Whale Wars,” where captains of several Sea Shepherd vessels took down whalers by any means necessary.
Watson’s foundation is asking for money to get him out of detention in Greenland before he is extradited to Japan.
We have contacted the Danish authorities… so far, no response.