Protesting against the country’s strict coronavirus sanctions, German police forcibly removed far-right protesters and others who attacked the parliament building in Berlin.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Hundreds of people were involved in the breach, some hoisting the German Reich flag from 1871-1918 and others hoisting far-right banners.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Saturday, August 29, 2020 in Berlin, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. (Christoph Soder / DPA via AP)
“The Rick Flags and right-wing extremist incitement against the German Bundestag is an unbearable attack on the heart of our democracy,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Sunday. “We will never accept this.”
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Robert Hebeck, co-leader of Germany’s Green Party, has called for a thorough investigation into the incident.
“The fact that the Nazis with the flags of the imperial war are trying to storm the Bundestag is reminiscent of the darkest period of German history,” he told the Funk media group.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Saturday, August 29, 2020 in Berlin, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. (Christoph Soder / DPA via AP)
Stanmeier said people have the right to express their anger about coronavirus bans and to question them in public, including demonstrations.
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“My sympathy ends where protesters allow themselves to be used by enemies of democracy and political agitators.”
According to police, about 300 people were arrested following an incident in front of the Reichstag and at the Russian embassy.
German officials condemned the people who broke into the building.
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The BBC reported that the protest was banned earlier, but the court eventually allowed it to proceed on the condition that protesters wear masks and adhere to coronavirus measures such as social distance.
The Associated Press contributes to this report.
