Party leader Alice Weidel came to an AfD citizens’ event in Bretten on Saturday evening. At the same time, a counter-demonstration with more than two thousand people took place.
An AfD citizens’ event took place in Bretten (Karlsruhe district) on Saturday evening. The crowd was very large. According to the police, there was space for around 450 people in the city park hall, and 150 more had to be turned away. Some of them had traveled far to see party leader Alice Weidel. State spokesman Emil Sätze and Markus Frohnmaier also came.
Over five hundred AfD supporters could no longer fit into the hall in Bretten and had to wait outside.
Counter-demonstration with around 2,500 participants in Bretten
The SPD had registered a counter-demonstration. The “vigil” in the city park was under the motto “Bretten remains colorful” and, according to the organizers, was directed against hate speech, exclusion and division.
The counter-demonstration was supported by a wide range of parties, clubs, unions and other groups. As a police spokesman said, around 2,500 participants took part in the counter-demonstration, instead of the expected 500. According to SWR information, everything remained peaceful until the evening.
Around a thousand people came to the demonstration against the AfD in Bretten.
Safety-related concerns of the city of Bretten in advance
In one Press release The city of Bretten addressed possible security concerns regarding the simultaneous and spatial proximity of the two events. It said that, particularly during counter-demonstrations, there was a right to gather “within sight and hearing” of the event in question.
Accordingly, a security service was deployed for the AfD event. For the counter-demonstration, a quota of one steward for every ten demonstrators was agreed with the assembly authorities. In addition, a larger number of police were on site to intervene if necessary.
Broadcast on Friday, February 2nd, 2024 6:00 a.m., SWR4 BW in the morning, SWR4 Baden-Württemberg
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