A young man repeatedly violently attacked a reporter from Bayerischer Rundfunk. This happened on Tuesday afternoon in Munich, following a press conference by the Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek on the Corona communication campaign on booster vaccinations. The 38-year-old reporter was interviewing listeners when the man attacked him from the side with multiple punches to the head.
Police arrest attackers
Security guards were able to push the man back. But he kept trying to approach the reporter. He finally ambushed him on the way to the car and attacked him again on Marienplatz with punches. The police were able to arrest the man. The attacker had previously insulted the reporter and said: “I will destroy you all”.
BR director Wildermuth: “Attack on freedom of the press”
The reporter has filed a complaint for assault. The criminal police are investigating. According to BR research, the perpetrator can be assigned to the far right spectrum and has already expressed a willingness to use violence on the Internet.
BR Director Dr. Katja Wildermuth. “I condemn this terrible attack on our reporter in the strongest possible terms. Freedom of the press is a valuable asset that must be protected. Any attack on journalists is also an attack on freedom of the press.”
Editor-in-chief Nitsche “appalled”
BR editor-in-chief Christian Nitsche: “I am appalled by this level of disinhibition and brutalization. During the corona pandemic, there were repeated attacks on BR reporters on the sidelines of demonstrations. These were mainly verbal in nature. The current violent attack goes beyond this dimension and is the most serious attack on a BR colleague to date. The fact that someone attacks a reporter from behind and expresses fantasies of annihilation crosses all borders.”