Munich: about 10,000 people at the crown rally – police intervene

Position: 12.09.2020 | Reading time: 4 minutes

WITHur Crown-Demo in Munich On Saturday there were twice as many participants as announced by the organizers. “We are currently taking over 10,000 participants,” said a Munich police spokeswoman. The main rally had to be interrupted just under an hour after the start because distance rules were not observed and the participants did not wear masks. The organizers of the demonstration, the “lateral thinking 089” initiative, had registered 5,000 participants.

Also in the previous demonstration in the center of Munich, significantly more people participated than allowed. According to the police, the peak was 3,000 instead of the 500 allowed. Because the number had been so significantly exceeded and many participants had not worn a mask, the police had stopped the train. Soon after, the organizers interrupted the train and asked the participants to gather for the main rally on Theresienwiese.

There the speakers on stage demanded, among other things, the lifting of the immunity of the federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn (CDU). Furthermore, the prime minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder (CSU), must be respected for the protection of the constitution. Former television pastor Jürgen Fliege also appeared as a speaker.

The police registered more than 120 reports. More than 100 people were reported because they did not wear mouth and nose protection at the demonstration against the crown’s measures, police said. More than 20 other people were accused of resisting law enforcement, defamation, assault and violations of the assembly law. Officers did not initially reveal how many people were arrested. “In most cases, affected people could be fired after processing the ad,” police said.

The rally was preceded by a legal dispute over the size and shape of the event. It wasn’t until Saturday night that the Bavarian Administrative Court lifted a participation restriction imposed by the city on 1,000 protesters. The organizers had registered 5,000 for the final rally and 500 for the demonstration.

In Hannover More than 1,000 people protested on Saturday. They complained of inappropriate interference with fundamental rights and the arbitrariness of the State. According to the police, around 1,100 participants took part in the protest march through the city center. Many of them did not comply with the obligation to wear mouth and nose protection, so the police interrupted the demonstration several times and reminded them of the mask requirement, which had been confirmed by the court.

One speaker spoke of a “fake pandemic” at a rally at the start of the protests. “They are taking away our human rights,” he said, referring to the federal government. Tax money would be wasted because, for example, expensive fans would be given away abroad that would not be used in Germany. A private initiative had registered the protest under the title “Walk towards freedom”, a total of 2000 participants were expected.

In the city there were also protests against criticism of the Corona measures, for example by the Youth of the Left with 200 participants. According to the police, around 450 people were counted at a “Stand Up Against Racism” rally.

According to the police, the protests remained peaceful until the afternoon. There were also no imperial flags or imperial war flags to be seen. Instead, rainbow flags and banners were displayed with the slogan “In the meantime, more people are stupid from Corona than have died.”

Police were on duty with several hundred officers, several water cannons were on the streets of the state capital, and the squad was on site. The situation was critical when the protest march passed near the state parliament, where around 50 people from the left spectrum had gathered. There the demonstration was not interrupted.

Protests also in Wiesbaden

A protest against the state crown rules are in Wiesbaden Significantly fewer participants came than registered organizers. Police spoke on Saturday night to about 180 people at the “lateral thinking” initiative in the state capital of Hesse. A spokesperson said there was also an anti-law vigil with around 50 participants.

According to the city, the protest was originally registered for up to 3,000 people. According to the police spokesman, there were no incidents or disabilities due to the high summer temperatures in Wiesbaden. “Both meetings went smoothly,” officials said in the evening. The city had approved the demonstration and the vigil subject to the conditions imposed by the organizers.

In Berlin, there were recently clashes between the participants of the demonstration and the police on the sidelines of several demonstrations against the policy of the crown. 300 to 400 people had broken through the barriers and briefly occupied the stairs in front of the Reichstag building. The protesters’ actions had caused outrage among politicians.