This action by the Identitarian Movement was “intolerable,” said Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) in a broadcast on Sunday. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is observing this development “meticulously” and has taken all measures permissible under the rule of law.
The recent “walk” – as the Identitarians call it – of around 60 activists was monitored by the Federal Police from 10 p.m. until the end at 2 a.m. and observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. According to the broadcast, identity determinations were carried out in advance. There were no incidents during the action. The district authority of Oberwart checks whether there is criminal behavior under administrative law (such as the right of assembly). Nehammer pointed out that since the amendment of the Symbols Act in July, the symbols of the identities have been banned.
A similar action had already taken place at the beginning of October. According to an online portal close to the Identitarian Movement, the “Grenzgänger-Aktion” had the aim of documenting illegal border crossings and deterring smugglers on the night of October 2nd. According to Nehammer, exactly the opposite is achieved: “The behavior of this extremist group hinders the work of the police, in particular the surveillance of the border as part of the structural investigations to combat people smuggling.”
