AfD boss in the hospital
According to the spokesman, Chrupalla has a “puncture site” – police see no evidence of an attack
People stand at an AfD election campaign rally in Ingolstadt. Party leader Tino Chrupalla was actually supposed to appear here
© News5 / DPA
AfD party leader Tino Chrupalla was actually supposed to give a speech in the Bavarian state election campaign in Ingolstadt. But then he was taken to the hospital. What exactly happened is unclear – the police are investigating.
Even the morning after, there are many unanswered questions about an ominous incident at an election campaign appearance AfD federal chairman Tino Chrupalla. The only thing that seems clear is that Chrupalla spent the night in a hospital in Ingolstadt. As the police said, he had to receive medical treatment behind the stage on Wednesday afternoon before the start of a speech on the theater square and was then taken to the hospital. No obvious injury was apparent at this point.
A spokesman for Chrupalla said on Thursday morning that the 48-year-old was “still in the intensive care unit” but was still responsive. He spoke of a “puncture site”. Tests are being carried out for possible substances in the body, and the police are investigating. When asked, the spokesman was not more specific. The AfD federal office spoke of an “assault incident” on Wednesday. She did not provide any information about what exactly might have happened on the sidelines of the election campaign event in Ingolstadt and referred to the ongoing investigations.
Police have no evidence of an attack
However, a spokesman for the Upper Bavaria North Police Headquarters in Ingolstadt said on Thursday morning that there was no new information. The police still have no evidence of an attack on the AfD leader from the audience. On Wednesday, the police said: “In order to clarify the detailed circumstances of this medical incident, further investigations were carried out by the Ingolstadt criminal police station.” The police want to investigate whether third parties could be responsible for the incident. But there is no evidence of an attack. Police asked visitors who took photos or videos around the event to make them available to investigators.
In Bavaria, the state parliament will be elected on Sunday. The Saxon Chrupalla has been at the head of the AfD for almost four years. He initially led the party together with Jörg Meuthen, who left the AfD at the beginning of 2022. Chrupalla and Alice Weidel have been the party’s leadership duo since June 2022. You are also chairwoman of the AfD parliamentary group.
AfD leader Weidel also canceled her appearance
Weidel is also currently making headlines with a canceled election campaign appearance. The AfD co-chair had forgone a planned public meeting in the Bavarian-Thuringian border town of Mödlareuth on Tuesday, German Unity Day. 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. He did not want to say anything about the nature of the operation.
It was announced on Wednesday that Weidel is currently in Mallorca. Her spokesman Daniel Tapp confirmed a “Spiegel” 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. “After the event on September 23rd, which was very upsetting for the entire family, she and her partner and children followed the recommendation to stay away from their home environment for some time, which was a suspected target of the attack,” said Tapp.
At the event in Mödlareuth, a speaker claimed that Weidel was in a so-called safe house and was not allowed to leave it at the moment. According to her spokesman, this is not correct. When asked how the stay in Mallorca fit in with an impression that might have arisen from the video message that there was currently a threat to Weidel on German Unity Day, Tapp said: “It’s probably hard to imagine what it’s like for a family if you have to leave your home under police protection.” This prompted Weidel to “spend a few days with her family in peace and relative seclusion.” Weidel has been in Mallorca since Sunday and wants to return in the next few days.