After renewed hostility, the Greens are demanding more effective police protection at their party events. What is needed is “a clear announcement from the Ministry of the Interior on how to position ourselves better,” said state party leader Gisela Sengl on Friday to the SZ. At the same time, she called on the CSU and Free Voters to “finally stop their agitation against the Greens.” The current background is a disruption at the meeting of the Bamberg-Land district association on Wednesday in Hirschaid. The police in the Bamberg district are checking the action for violations of assembly law or criminal law, said a spokesman for the Upper Franconia police headquarters.
According to police, around 300 people gathered with more than 60 tractors and cars. The protest was not registered and there were several disruptive actions. Spotlights were shined into the event room, films were made, the windows were knocked on and a siren was turned on. After the meeting ended, the meeting participants were escorted to their vehicles in small groups, accompanied by the police.
Green Party parliamentary group leader Katharina Schulze called the actions “absolutely unacceptable.” The event could not be held as planned. “If we are forced to call the police to protect ourselves, I think it’s crazy,” said state party leader Sengl. Apparently the police “just couldn’t get 300 people under control.” Your demand is aimed solely at the Ministry of the Interior and is not a criticism of the police officers, said Sengl. “What started in Hart” continued in Hirschaid.
In August, in Hart bei Chieming, Upper Bavaria, the police were about to cancel Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir’s beer tent appearance for security reasons. Hundreds of people shouted and trilled at the election rally, and eggs and stones were offered in front of the tent. For fun, they said. In September, a stone was thrown in the direction of the Green Party’s top candidates Katharina Schulze and Ludwig Hartmann in Neu-Ulm. The investigators attribute the man, who basically admitted to the crime, to the “Reichsbürger” scene. There were further reports of hostility against party members during the state election campaign.
The police are currently investigating a suspected disruption at a Green Party event on Ash Wednesday in Weiden. A spokesman for the Upper Palatinate police headquarters said on Friday that the criminal offense of coercion and an offense against the assembly law were being examined. In Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, the Greens also canceled their Ash Wednesday event at short notice due to security concerns after a demonstration got out of hand. Among other things, farmers dumped a pile of dung in front of the town hall and blocked streets with paving stones and sandbags.
According to the federal government, police across Germany registered almost 2,800 crimes against politicians in 2023. Around 1,200 were directed against members of the Green Party. No other party is affected more often.