Protests against corona policy: horror after torch lift in front of residential building

Opponents of the corona policy pulled in front of the house of Saxony’s Minister of Health Köpping with torches. The march causes horror, there is talk of a “fascist” appearance – and further radicalization is feared.

A march of opponents of the Corona policy in front of the home of the Saxon Health Minister Petra Köpping has been condemned across parties. Politicians also at the federal level sharply criticized the protest as attempting to intimidate and crossing borders and expressed solidarity with the SPD politician.

“What we saw near Grimma is not a legitimate protest,” said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) of “Bild am Sonntag”. “This torchlight procession is organized intimidation of a state representative. It reminds me of the darkest chapters of our German history.” He is sure that the Saxon authorities assessed the events according to this standard and would take appropriate action.

State security determined

Opponents of the corona policy protested with torches and posters in front of Köpping’s house in Grimma on Friday evening. According to the police, around 30 people gathered, so the minister was at home at the time. When the officers arrived, the protesters had fled in several vehicles.

Police stopped 15 cars and established the identities of 25 people. She reported the violation of the General Assembly Act and checked violations of the Corona Ordinance. “All legal steps as well as possible criminal offenses” against the protesters would be examined, accordingly the state security department of the police department Leipzig took over the investigation.

In a video distributed on the Internet you can see people standing noisily in front of Köpping’s house and shouting “Peace, freedom, no dictatorship”. Köpping himself wrote on Instagram that factual criticism of the corona measures was “completely legitimate” and that she was also “always ready to talk”. “But torch-lit protests in front of my house are disgusting and indecent.”

Walter-Borjans: “Fascistoid” appearance

SPD leader Norbert Walter-Borjans spoke of a “fascist” appearance with a view to the incident in Grimma. He described the elevator as “absolutely shocking” and drew comparisons on Deutschlandfunk at a time when people had already “stood in front of houses with drums and torches”. At the special party conference in Berlin, he said that what had happened in front of Köpping’s house had “nothing to do with democratic expression of opinion”.

SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil said the limits were exceeded when “oaths with torches gather in front of the house of a politician”. That needs “an answer with the full rigor of the rule of law”. SPD leader Saskia Esken wrote to Köpping: “Those who are rational and willing to take responsibility are the great majority, and they are by your side.”

The Saxon politician also received cross-party support from the Saxon Greens and Leftists. They spoke of breaking a taboo and declared that such an elevator did not happen with peaceful intent.

Fears further radicalization through compulsory vaccination

The chairman of the conference of interior ministers, Thomas Strobl (CDU), told the newspapers of the Funke media group that according to the intelligence of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, it can be assumed that a vaccination requirement would reinforce the “aggressive attitude of the lateral thinker movement”. The movement believes it recognizes an advancing dictatorship that justifies resistance. It is “dangerous for our free democracy, and it is becoming even more dangerous”.

Federal Interior Minister Seehofer also fears further radicalization with the planned mandatory vaccination. “We have to be aware that compulsory vaccination against corona can lead to reactions in the population,” he said. Nobody can rule out the possibility that individuals or groups from among those opposing the vaccination could become radicalized and, in the worst case, commit acts of violence. “The security authorities have to be very vigilant.”