AfD federal chairman Tino Chrupalla was taken to hospital on the sidelines of a campaign rally in Ingolstadt. According to the AfD, there was an “assault incident”. The Ingolstadt public prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation against unknown persons due to initial suspicion of bodily harm.
On Wednesday evening, the Ingolstadt police announced that the Bundestag member had to receive medical care on the theater square behind the stage before his speech began, “although no obvious injury was apparent at that time.” said a press release. “In order to clarify the details of this medical incident, further investigations were carried out by the Ingolstadt Criminal Investigation Department.” A police spokesman said they wanted to investigate whether third parties could be responsible for the incident. But there is no evidence of an attack.
The Ingolstadt public prosecutor’s office shared the status of the investigation with the public early on Thursday afternoon. “There is currently no evidence that Mr. Chrupalla was approached or attacked,” it said in a press release. The politician took selfies with several people and there was slight physical contact. “At some point in time,” Chrupalla felt pain in his upper arm on the way to the speaker’s stage. “Due to further health problems,” it was then taken to the Ingolstadt Clinic. There, “superficial redness or swelling was noted” on Chrupalla’s upper arm. Further investigations therefore remained unremarkable.
Chrupalla’s office had previously announced that the politician was being monitored in intensive care in the clinic and that he was stable and responsive given the circumstances. A spokesman for Chrupalla’s office named a “puncture site” and said tests were underway for possible substances in the body. According to the Mirror The investigators found and seized a pinboard pin at the site of the election campaign appearance. However, this was not mentioned in the public prosecutor’s communication.
AfD co-leader Weidel after police operations in Mallorca
The 48-year-old Chrupalla has been at the head of the AfD for almost four years – initially with Jörg Meuthen, and since June 2022 together with Alice Weidel. Weidel had already forgone a planned public appearance in the Bavarian-Thuringian border town of Mödlareuth on Tuesday. A spokesman said there had been a “security-related incident” the weekend before last. “Mrs Weidel and her family were taken from their private apartment to a safe place by security authorities because there had been increasing evidence that pointed to an attack on her family,” he said when asked. A spokesman for the Schwyz police in central Switzerland confirmed to broadcaster SRF on Wednesday that a police operation in this matter would take place on September 23rd.
It was announced on Wednesday that Weidel is currently in Mallorca. Her spokesman confirmed one Mirror-Report that Weidel was seen in a beach restaurant on Tuesday, German Unity Day, in a town on the east coast of Mallorca, together with her partner. However, there had actually been a security-related incident before, said the spokesman.