“The behavior of the colleague is incomprehensible to us and is not tolerated by us. Therefore, the investigation was started,” said the Vienna State Police Department on Twitter. In a broadcast sent later, the police did not address the incident, but reported that their officials had “consistently intervened” to prevent counter-demonstrators from disrupting the Coronademo. There was an arrest in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure and several judicial and administrative reports. Injured people were not reported.
Reports that a “neo-Nazi thugs” had demolished a coffee house near the University of Vienna, into which counter-demonstrators had fled, had already caused a stir. In addition, projectiles from the ranks of opponents of the corona measures are said to have flown in the direction of the counter-demonstrators. The police were accused of not taking action against the corona opponents, but instead encircling the left-wing counter-demonstrators.
From the point of view of the police, the counter-demonstrators who had come from the Votivpark on bicycles in the area of the Karlskirche tried “to get to the lawfully held meeting in Resselpark in order to obviously disturb it”. As it was said in a police broadcast on Saturday evening, pyrotechnic objects were ignited and thrown. “Thanks to the consistent intervention of the emergency services, a meeting of the rival groups could be prevented.”
The police reported that they had accompanied the demonstrators from Christian-Broda-Platz in Vienna-Mariahilf on the given route to Resselpark in Vienna-Wieden. After the final rally there, the event ended “without any relevant incidents”. The police reported that around 150 people had gathered at noon in the Votivpark in Vienna-Alsergrund for the counter-demonstration, which was also reported, including hooded supporters of the so-called “Antifa”. The police did not provide any information about the participation of right-wing extremists in the other demonstration, as vouched for by eyewitnesses.
The main speaker at the corona demonstration was an official in the Ministry of Defense who has been causing a stir with sharp criticism of the corona measures for some time. In her speech, she called on the police officers present to refuse to obey, reports on social media said.
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