Two mysterious incidents are causing concern in the AfD. Party leader Tino Chrupalla had to be taken to hospital, and co-leader Alice Weidel had to go to safety in Mallorca, allegedly because of a threatening situation. What is known so far.
Was Tino Chrupalla attacked? The AfD party leader was taken to hospital on the sidelines of an election campaign event on Wednesday afternoon in Ingolstadt. The public prosecutor’s office is now investigating suspicion of bodily harm. A spokeswoman for the investigative agency told the AFP news agency (the star reported). The investigation is ongoing against unknown persons.
According to Chrupalla’s spokesman, a “puncture mark” was found on the politician’s body in the clinic. Tests were being carried out for possible substances in the body. The police have not yet commented on possible reasons for the AfD leader’s admission to the hospital. A police spokesman told the DPA news agency that there was currently no information about a possible syringe attack on Chrupalla. “According to the current state of knowledge,” several people are said to have taken selfies with Chrupalla, during which there was slight physical contact, it was said.
Chrupalla later felt pain in his upper arm and was taken to the hospital “due to further health problems,” police and prosecutors said. A “superficial redness or swelling” was noted there.
There is still no official information about the 48-year-old’s health. His spokesman said on Thursday morning that he was in the intensive care unit but was approachable. The AfD leader will probably be out of the final campaign campaign in Bavaria.
The criminal police called on any witnesses to upload photos or videos of the election campaign event on Ingolstadt’s Theaterplatz.
Confusion about the “threat situation” among AfD leader Alice Weidel
There is also turmoil surrounding Chrupalla’s co-chairwoman Alice Weidel these days. Weidel was actually supposed to perform on October 3rd, German Unity Day, in Mödlareuth, a border town between Bavaria and Thuringia. There will be elections in Bavaria on Sunday – the date should be the highlight of the AfD state election campaign. But the AfD parliamentary group leader didn’t show up. Instead, her spokesman said: “Ms. Weidel and her family were taken from their private apartment to a safe place by security authorities because evidence had accumulated that pointed to an attack on her family.” A police spokesman from Switzerland confirmed this star an operation on September 23rd, but gave no details.
A recorded video message suggested that Weidel was in a safe environment. At the appearance, an AfD representative spoke of a “greeting from the Safe House” – “this is Germany 2023”. Weidel himself says in the video: “I would love nothing more than to be with you today, but unfortunately I can’t.”
Then on the same day she was spotted in a public restaurant in the east of Mallorca with her partner. The “Spiegel” reported first. An AfD spokesman told the magazine that the “security-related incident,” as the Swiss police call it, actually happened. The family then followed the recommendation to “stay away from their home environment for some time, which was a suspected target of the attack.” Therefore, she did not communicate her whereabouts “for security reasons.”
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), responsible for protecting politicians, has not made any recommendation to cancel the appearance, a spokesman said star. Weidel also appeared at a parliamentary group meeting with her co-chairman Chrupalla on September 26th, three days after the police operation, and took part in a Bundestag meeting on September 29th. The BKA wanted details on a possible threat situation or protective measures for the AfD leader on Thursday morning star-Do not mention the request.
Repeated attacks on politicians
In the past there have been repeated threats and attacks on politicians. According to the federal government, there were a total of 1,398 physical attacks on members of the Bundestag last year, most frequently on politicians from the Greens (399) and the SPD (386). The AfD is in third place (321). Overall, attacks against the traffic light parties have increased significantly.
Several alleged or real attacks on AfD politicians have made headlines in recent months, for example:
- In August, Augsburg AfD city councilor Andreas Jurca was apparently attacked and hit in the face. The police are investigating dangerous bodily harm and searched the apartment of two suspects last week, reports the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.
- In 2019, the Bremen AfD state leader Frank Magnitz was attacked. As with Jurca, footage was subsequently released showing the politician covered in blood. Afterwards, an internal newsletter explained that Magnitz wanted to generate “attention” and “media concern” with the publication and dramatized the descriptions. The letter was available to the “taz”, among others.
- In May 2018, loose wheel nuts were found on the car of then AfD member of the Bundestag Anton Friesen. He spoke of a “new dimension of left-wing extremist violence.” A report from the public prosecutor’s office later revealed that the nuts probably came loose on their own due to apparently defective spare parts.
The BKA is responsible for protecting representatives of the constitutional bodies, which also include the Bundestag – and thus also the AfD leadership duo. The security group department regularly assesses the risk to individuals and, if necessary, takes protective measures, which can range from security advice to permanent personal protection. The Wiesbaden authorities said that BKA officials were on site at Tino Chrupalla’s planned election campaign appearance star-Inquiry with.
Sources: , , , “”, , “”, news agencies DPA and AFP
Editor’s note: This article has been supplemented with further information from the investigating authorities.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
