On Saturday, AfD politicians were stopped from laying flowers at the Munich attack memorial by a human chain formed by counter-demonstrators. The AfD had held a vigil with around 70 participants, but their plans to pay tribute were blocked by over 600 protesters, including members from Verdi, the Greens, and the “Grandas against the Right” group.
As the AfD tried to lay flowers at the site, about 50 counter-protesters linked arms to prevent them. Videos showed Stephan Protschka, an AfD Bundestag member and leader of the Bavarian branch, arguing with police officers. The officer explained they couldn’t allow Protschka to approach the memorial due to escalating tensions.
Despite waiting over two hours, the AfD was only allowed to place the flowers a few meters away from the memorial with police protection. The situation escalated with counter-demonstrators attempting to attack the police, leading to the use of “coercive measures” to control the crowd. Police also had to deal with eight instances of people violating mask bans and one dangerous assault on an officer.
