Opponents of corona measures: Warning of radicalization of the protests

The security authorities have long observed that the corona denier scene is radicalizing. The planned vaccination requirement could accelerate that. But even tougher crackdowns are required.

Interior ministers and constitutional protectors have warned of a further escalation of the protests against the corona measures in the event of a general vaccination requirement. “Indeed, I fear that the mandatory vaccination could fuel the protests,” said Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) the newspapers of the editorial network of Germany.

The Minister of the Interior from Saxony-Anhalt, Tamara Zieschang (CDU), agreed with Stübgen in the RND: Since the beginning of the pandemic, it has been observed that tightening the measures would lead to more protests and demonstrations. “This is a dramatic situation that has worsened again in the past few weeks,” said Saxony’s Interior Minister Roland Wöller (CDU) in an interview with RTL. The protest is increasingly charged with hatred and violence.

Infiltration by right-wing extremists

The head of the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Jörg Müller, warned in the RBB that known right-wing extremists infiltrated the demonstrations against the Corona measures. Well-known actors “like the AfD or the extremist association ‘Zukunft Heimat'” managed to mobilize thousands of people again and again.

According to his own statements, this is also observed by Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU). He told the RND that in addition to more and more registered protests, there were also more and more unannounced protests. These “supposedly spontaneous” meetings would be advertised in relevant groups in the Telegram online service. However, the authorities are prepared for this and punish violations of the Assembly Act and the provisions of the law on protection against infection.

Stricter crackdown instead of a “peculiar offense”

The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia, Stephan Kramer, said on the other hand that the violations would only be treated as “petty offenses”. He spoke out in favor of a tougher “crackdown” by the judiciary against the demonstrators: “It is necessary that there are also court hearings that are publicly noticed.” It is no longer about freedom of assembly and expression, he told the RND. “It’s all about intimidating and spreading fear. These people don’t need communication, they need a clear message.”

The protesters’ threats were no longer directed solely against politicians like the Saxon Minister of Health Petra Köpping (SPD), in front of whose private house demonstrators had marched with torches. “We have had threats against teachers, doctors and scientists at universities for a long time,” said Kramer. They couldn’t all be put under police protection. “Thuringia’s head of the protection of the constitution told the RND that there were 30 protest events in his state over the weekend – many of which were not registered.