Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has claimed the anti-lockdown “Querdenker” movement could be capable of violence.
The BfV has claimed that the Querdenker (Lateral Thinker) group have “intensified escalation potential” but also noted that many small anti-lockdown protests have been largely peaceful, despite a small number of attacks on police and media at some of the more well-attended events.
According to a report by Deutsche Welle, members of the Querdenker movement in Baden-Württemberg are under observation after the region’s interior minister Thomas Strobel announced the move earlier this week on Wednesday.
WATCH: Police Fire Water Cannons at Antifa in Germany as They Try to Shut Down ‘Fascist’ Anti-Lockdown Demo https://t.co/ZXdreGJzvM
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 16, 2020
Beate Bube, the head of the region’s intelligence agency, alleged that the anti-lockdown group’s members were “opposed to the peaceful democratic order.”
Other regions have come out against the movement as well, such as Lower Saxony, whose Interior Minister Boris Pistorius said: “From within the movement, legitimate protest against coronavirus measures has developed into an attack on the state and democracy.”
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Herbert Reul, meanwhile, claimed the members of the Querdenker were becoming “increasingly violent.”
Last month, supporters of the group entered the German parliament and confronted several MPs over the coronavirus lockdown following a large demonstration in Berlin.
Several politicians blamed the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and said members of the party had smuggled in the activists.
Violence against Querdenker members has also been seen in recent weeks, particularly from Antifa counter-protesters in various cities across the country.
German Far-Left Extremist Police Taskforce Investigate Antifa Attempted Homicide https://t.co/00W9zzhnUs
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 26, 2020
In November, police in Frankfurt were forced to use water cannons to disperse the far-left extremists who denounced the Querdenker movement as “Nazi propaganda.”
In Leipzig, Antifa members brutally attacked Querdenker members, with 15-20 black-clad extremists surrounding and beating two men, stomping and kicking their heads.
Police were forced to fire a warning shot in order to disperse them, and the Leipzig police far-left extremism task force launched an investigation to identify the Antifa attackers.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.