AfD leader
Chrupalla leaves the hospital – investigators rely on blood, clothing and witnesses
Police secure an Afd election campaign rally in Ingolstadt as well as counter-demonstrations. photo
© News5/NEWS5/dpa
AfD leader Tino Chrupalla is taken to hospital during an election campaign event. There is quick talk of an “assault incident”. But was there really an attack on the party chairman?–
After an incident at an election campaign event with the AfD leader Tino Chrupalla in Upper Bavaria, according to a spokesman, the police investigation will take several more days. Results from Chrupalla’s blood samples and the tests on his clothing would probably no longer be available this week, the police spokesman said. “More witnesses are also being interviewed. After the incident, we recorded a large number of personal details.” According to the AfD on Thursday evening, Chrupalla has now left the hospital. He will receive “further medical treatment,” it said in a press release. All planned election campaign dates in Bavaria have been canceled.
The investigators also evaluated images from the event that had been submitted via their own portal. However, an investigation team into the case is not planned, said the police spokesman. When asked, he did not want to comment on the evidence on site.
After the incident on Wednesday, the Ingolstadt public prosecutor’s office initiated an investigation into bodily harm, but there were initially no suspects. On Thursday, the police and public prosecutor’s office also announced that there was “no evidence that Mr. Chrupalla was approached or attacked.” According to initial findings, “several people took selfies with Mr. Chrupalla at the event, during which there was slight physical contact.”
The AfD federal office had previously spoken of an “assault incident”, a spokesman for Chrupalla’s office of a “puncture site”. The police and public prosecutor’s office, however, only said that a “superficial redness or swelling” was found on Chrupalla’s upper arm.
Accusations from Bavaria’s Interior Minister Herrmann
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann made serious accusations against the AfD on Thursday. It is frightening “how infamous and conniving the AfD is trying to capitalize on the incidents among its own clientele in the state election campaign without waiting for the investigations,” criticized the CSU politician.
“Although the Ingolstadt public prosecutor’s office has currently initiated an investigation against unknown persons on suspicion of bodily harm, there is so far no evidence that Chrupalla was approached or attacked,” emphasized the Interior Minister. “The police and public prosecutor’s office are continuing to investigate at full speed,” emphasized Herrmann. “It is also important to evaluate reliable evidence.”