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Leipzig – When the “lateral thinking” rally broke up in Leipzig on Saturday night, there were riots between protesters and the police, and thousands of participants resisted officials. Police officers and journalists have been attacked and several people have already been arrested.
Despite the ban, “side thinkers” marched in the inner city ring and chanted “Peace, freedom, not dictatorship” and “Merkel must go.” Even a police cordon was broken in the area of the main train station. Some participants lit firecrackers and rockets, and also threw fireworks and bottles at the police officers. At the main station there were several fights between the demonstration participants and the counter-protesters.
Police officers push a protester to the ground
Photo: Omer Messinger / Getty Images
“The situation is currently very dynamic, the emergency services have to intervene again and again in different places,” said a police spokeswoman. “Both camps are trying to reach out and attack each other, as well as attack officials.”
Police also reported attacks on emergency services on Twitter. “Rescuers are repeatedly attacked in #Leipzig. Refrain from lighting pyrotechnics and throwing objects at him!” The Connewitz police station was shot with cobblestones.
Protesters broke through police barriers and marched through the downtown ring
Photo: Sebastian Willnow / AP Photo / dpa
The journalists’ union DJU reported at least 32 attacks on journalists overnight, most of which had come from “lateral thinking” participants.
Leipzig Police Chief Torsten Schultze said at night: “There was great pressure on the police force, which we could only have resisted using direct force. This raises the question of the proportionality of the funds. Using force was not advisable for us. A pandemic is not fought with police means, but only with the common sense of the people. “
90 percent of protesters without a mask
Previously, the city of Leipzig had broken up the rally with thousands of participants because most of them had violated the assembly requirements. “About 90 percent of the participants did not wear mouth and nose protection,” said a police spokeswoman.
Officials initially assumed about 20,000 people. The “Counted Up” initiative even estimates that around 45,000 “side thinkers” crowded Augustusplatz.
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Although the meeting officially ended, thousands of people continued to crowd the center of the city.
Photo: Sebastian Kahnert / dpa
At the rally against the government’s crown measures, controversial vegan chef and conspiracy theorist Attila Hildmann (39) was on stage.
By morning, a court had limited the number of participants to 16,000. But according to the police, more than 20,000 people were in the square and in the surrounding alleys, some of them from other federal states traveling by bus. A massive counter-protest was also formed from the left scene.
The police post at Wiedebachpassage in Connewitz was thrown with cobblestones
Photo: BILD
Saxon Interior Minister Roland Wöller (CDU) called it irresponsible to allow such an event in the center of Leipzig. Compliance with the rules of the crown was impossible from the beginning. “Therefore, it was correct, in view of the obvious violations, to dissolve the meeting,” said Wöller. “The corona pandemic cannot be fought with the police or with police measures, but only with everyone’s common sense.”
Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung (62, SPD) has already commented on Facebook: “I do not sympathize with the mass demonstration. In this situation he is irresponsible, shameless, lacking in solidarity and high risk ”.
By Saturday, a total of 27 demonstrations, rallies and rallies had been announced in Leipzig. According to their own statements, the police were preparing for “a very intense operation because a certain potential for radicalization is recognizable from all sides.” The Leipzig police are supported by the Saxon riot police, the emergency services of eight federal states as well as the federal police and the state criminal investigation office.
