Petra Koepping
Demo on AfD initiative? Police stop protest in front of the home of Saxony’s Minister of Health
There should be another protest in front of Petra Köpping’s house – initiated by AfD politicians.
© Matthias Rietschel / DPA
The police stopped a protest in front of the home of the Saxon Health Minister Petra Köpping (SPD). The initiative apparently came from two AfD members. Several politicians sharply condemn the action.
According to the Saxon Ministry of the Interior, a demonstration in front of the home of the Saxon Minister of Health was stopped on Wednesday afternoon. Two AfD members tried to demonstrate in front of Petra Köpping’s (SPD) private house in Grimma, the ministry announced on the evening of the event. The member of parliament Jörg Dornau and another party member were involved. The police’s property security, which has been on duty since the torch march in December, stopped the protest.
Saxony’s Interior Minister Roland Wöller (CDU) sharply condemned the action. “Especially after the menacing elevators in front of the private homes of officials and elected officials, it should be clear that red lines have been crossed here. Today’s demonstration attempt shows once again that the AfD does not shy away from intimidating and threatening politicians in a targeted manner,” he shared. The AfD is “a significant accelerator of radicalization and tries to destroy our democracy from within,” Wöller said. He called on the AfD to apologize to his cabinet colleague and to clearly distance itself from the state parliamentarian Dornau.
Günther considers the AfD demo in front of Petra Köpping’s house to be “absolutely unacceptable”
Deputy Prime Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens) called the attempt to intimidate Köpping at her home “absolutely unacceptable”. “In times when solidarity and consideration are more in demand than ever, this party shows what it always was at its core: destructive and destructive,” criticized the Green politician.
Alexander Dierks, Secretary General of the CDU in Saxony, also condemned the action. “The AfD not only contributes to radicalization, it consciously drives it forward,” wrote the politician on Twitter. The demonstration attempt was “another low point”.
It was only in December that around 30 demonstrators marched around with torches, whistles and drums and gathered in front of the SPD minister’s house. In a video posted online, they can be heard shouting “peace, freedom, no dictatorship.” The march of the right-wing demonstrators was condemned by all parties as an attempt to intimidate a politician.