SPD man is said to have attacked AfD politicians in a bar

After a fight in a bar in Hürth near Cologne, the police state security agency is investigating. There is a suspicion of dangerous bodily harm. A politically motivated background cannot be ruled out, said a spokesman for the Cologne police. In a message on The party released a video which, according to them, was a recording from a surveillance camera of the incident early on Saturday morning. The AfD parliamentary group leader in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament, Martin Vincentz, spoke of a “break in local politics in North Rhine-Westphalia”.

A spokesman for the Cologne police said that nothing could yet be said about those involved or how the crime took place. Gottschalk himself told the German Press Agency in a statement that he was sorry that the incident had happened. Until the matter is clarified, he will put his political involvement on hold. However, he emphasized that the violent confrontation was preceded by xenophobic provocations.

Gottschalk described that he had visited a restaurant in Alt-Hürth with his fiancée early on Saturday morning. There they were initially insulted because of their Christmas sweaters. “The guests at the counter, including AfD council member Norbert Raatz, took the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market as an opportunity to loudly shout racist and inhumane speeches. After my fiancée was insulted in a sexist manner by the innkeeper, it happened to fisticuffs.”

Since they were unable to leave the restaurant because the door was closed with roller shutters, the situation escalated. Gottschalk emphasized: “The secretly recorded and illegally distributed video only shows a small excerpt of the incident. The racist slogans that preceded it cannot of course be heard on the video. Looking back, I deeply regret that I was not able to maintain the level of prudence that was necessary in this situation would have been necessary to respond appropriately to these evil provocations.” He and his companions filed charges of incitement to hatred, insults, bodily harm and the distribution of the video recordings.

A spokesman for the North Rhine-Westphalian SPD said: “We ask for your understanding that, given the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on the incident. In principle, the NRWSPD rejects any type of violent confrontation.”