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Status: 11/21/2020 7:20 pm
In Hanover, 650 opponents of the crown protection measures demonstrated at Opernplatz on Saturday. The protest was organized by the “lateral thinking initiative.”
There were no significant incidents, a Hannover police spokesman said after the protest. Officials had repeatedly verified the mandatory mask requirement and the distances between participants. Infractions in the “low double digit range” were found and sanctioned on the spot. Many of those affected could have presented a certificate, the spokesperson continued. Investigations into alleged forgery were only started in one case. The number of arrests or detentions was still uncertain Saturday night.
Pyrotechnics to the limit
Speakers at Opernplatz had repeatedly questioned the danger of the corona virus. They also called the government’s pandemic rules excessive. There were only minor incidents: one person managed to break the chain of the police and move in the direction of the ‘think outside the box’ demonstration. “The forces were able to detain the person,” said a spokesman for NDR.de. In addition, pyrotechnics were lit on the brink of the “lateral thinking” demonstration. They would have burned three or four pots of smoke colored smoke. “We assume that the manifestation of ‘lateral thinking’ should be disturbed,” the spokesperson continued.
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Police reject counter-protesters
Overall, it stayed quieter than previously assumed. Police had waited until 900 participants in advance. There were also significantly fewer than the 600 people announced together for a counter-demonstration. In the afternoon there were around 330 participants, a police spokesman told NDR.de, including some 120 left autonomists who called for a spontaneous protest against the police that agreed to the “lateral thinker” rally. The police then pushed the counter-protesters back a few dozen meters.
The last rallies broke up
At the national level, people are demonstrating in “lateral thinking” protests against the Crown’s requirements, also this weekend in Leipzig, Bochum and Berlin, among others. In past protests, conspiracy theorists and right-wing extremists have mixed with protesters. The rallies ended prematurely on several occasions because the participants did not meet the requirements such as mask and minimum distance requirements.
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