Covid-19 Protests

The Corona agitator Attila Hildmann has apparently disappeared. The German magazine SPIEGEL stated that they learned from investigators, that they have not known where the conspiracy ideologue is since the beginning of February.

On Friday, the Berlin-Tiergarten district court, therefore, issued a warrant for Hildmann's arrest. The investigators accuse him, among other things, of incitement of popular hatred, insult, threat and public incitement to commit crimes.

A current study proves that the coronavirus also spread strongly due to the so-called lateral thinking demonstrations in November 2020. 16,000 to 21,000 new infections could have been prevented if the demonstrations had been cancelled, the researchers estimate. The study shows that even a minority that disregards public health measures to protect against infection can pose a threat to public health.

Attila Hildmann has been searched by the police. State protectors searched the flat of the vegan cook, who calls himself "ultra-right" and a conspiracy preacher, in Brandenburg on Tuesday. A police spokesman said that the search had been ordered by the district court of Bernau (Barnim) at the request of the Cottbus public prosecutor's office for the purpose of security. According to the police spokesman, several investigations are underway at the Cottbus public prosecutor's office against Hildmann, including on suspicion of sedition.

At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the police had declared a rally with several thousand participants to be over at noon after the protestors had not responded to calls to respect social distancing and mandatory mask rules.

In addition the police announced via Twitter that emergency personnel had been thrown at with "bottles, stones and firecrackers and attacked with pepper spray". Around 190 people were arrested. The police used five water cannon vehicles in order to disband the protest.

After numerous violations of the assembly requirements, the city of Leipzig has dissolved the "lateral thinking" large-scale rally against the Corona policy. The large-scale demonstration was preceded by a legal dispute: The Higher Administrative Court of Bautzen (OVG) had decided that the rally with 16,000 people could take place on Augustusplatz. The decision of the Higher Administrative Court was an "official admission of a superspreader event with announcement", said Irena Rudolph-Kokot of "Bündnis Leipzig takes a seat".

An explosive device detonated in Berlin's Invalidenstraße this weekend. Apparently, the attack was caused by opponents of the Corona measures in Germany. Nobody was injured, the investigations are ongoing.

Following new Coronavirus restrictions, protests broke out across Italy on Monday. Clashes involving petrol bombs happened in both Milan and Turin. In Naples, protestors called for the resignation of its governor. Italy has imposed a curfew in many Italian regions and has ordered the closure of eateries, gyms and cinemas after 6pm.

The police spoke of about 2000 people who gathered on Alexanderplatz in the Mitte district to protest the Covid-19 measures in Germany. Many of them ignored the required social distancing and mask rules. The police let most of the participants walk the planned demo route along Karl-Marx-Allee without being disturbed, even though these people violated the conditions of the demonstration.

At about 4 p.m. the demonstration was ended by the organizers, as the Berlin police announced on Twitter.

The North Rhine-Westphalian Office for the Protection of the Constitution warns of unorganised radicalisation among the Corona opponents.

The events of the last few months would have shown that the measures adopted by the federal government, to contain the pandemic, are viewed by its opponents as such a threat that individual terrorism cannot be ruled out.

After an analysis, the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the events on the stairs of the Reichstag on August 29, in the context of the Corona demonstration in the House of Representatives. According to the security authorities, the action was spontaneous and unpredictable. There were announcements on the Internet, but these were classified as verbal aggression together with the State Criminal Police Office.

A total of around 2,500 to 3,000 people from the Reich citizen scene and other right-wing extremist organizations took part in demonstrations in Berlin this weekend.

On Monday, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned as "shameful" an attempt by protesters angry at Covid-19 restrictions to storm parliament, saying they had abused the right to demonstrate peacefully.

Several hundred people tried to get into the Reichstag building during a rally against coronavirus rules in Berlin on Saturday.

Some 38,000 people have protested Saturday in the German capital, Berlin, against the coronavirus restrictions. While most of the protest was peaceful, hundreds of protestors attempted to storm the Reichstag parliament building.

Members of Germany's far-right scene were also present, many of them visible with the flags of the German Empire and The Kingdom of Prussia. Both have become synonymous with the Reichsbürger movement that denies the legitimacy of the modern German state. Others waved placards affiliated with the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon.

Germany has so far not seen the wave of cases affecting some other countries of Europe, but its infection rate has been growing. New case numbers are reaching highs last seen in April.

Basketball player Joshiko Saibou has been released from his contract with German club Telekom Baskets Bonn after participating in protests against Covid-19 measures in Berlin. Saibou, previously, had also been posting conspiracy theories about the virus on social media.
Saibou and his girlfriend, Alexandra Wester, shared photos of their participation in the demonstration against Covid-19 measures on social networks. In the photos both were seen without mouth-nose protection and without distance from other people.
"The German clubs are currently working meticulously on hygiene concepts for the fans next season and for special health and safety guidelines," Bonn managing director Wolfgang Wiedlich said in a statement. "Therefore, we can’t be responsible for a permanent risk of infection, which the player Saibou represents to his teammates and other BBL teams."

According to police estimations around 20,000 people have attended a protest march against the Covid-19 measures in Germany. Most of the protestors did not wear masks and complied with the hygiene rules, prompting the police to launch legal action against the organizers. The police then tried to break up the protest which has lead to multiple injured officers of which three needed to be hospitalized.

Under the motto 'Good and healthy work', workers from six Amazon locations in Germany will start a 48-hour strike on Monday, according to Verdi labour union. The affected sites are in Leipzig, Bad Hersfeld, Rheinberg, Werne and Koblenz.

Verdi representative Orhan Akman said on Sunday: "We have information that at least 30 to 40 colleagues were infected,".

After the attack against the ZDF-Team and three security guards on 1st of May 2020 the investigators are still searching for an attack motive. All suspected persons are using their rights to remain silent and further investigations haven't brought up conclusive evidence so far.