In an operation that lasted only a few minutes, police forces entered the building from a side entrance and proceeded to clear it of any remaining staff occupying it, arresting four in the process, including the head of ERT's union. A little before 8 a.m., the arestees were released.

In the meantime, people who were gathered in the courtyard and on the street outside the building, were pushed back with the use of teargas.

SYRIZA MPs, union members and private citizens instantly gathered at the site, with heavy riot police remaining, allowing no one inside.

Since the abrupt ERT shutdown on June 11, when all 2,656 staff were fired, approximately 600 former employees had been occupying premises nationwide, including the HQ in Athens. Programming, which includes a daily TV news bulletin, had been pared down and broadcast mainly online. Viewers have access to a terrestrial signal only in limited areas of the country.