The police officers used pepper spray “after realizing that the mere use of physical strength was not enough to stop the activists’ acts of resistance against the blocking chain”. The operation is still being evaluated, but from the point of view of the Minister of the Interior, who refers to the Vienna State Police Directorate in this assessment, there was “no excessive police violence”. The Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism (LVT) and the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN) had warned of “violent activists from home and abroad” in advance, emphasized the minister. In addition, according to Karner, there were “indications that attempts might be made to use force to break into the event location” and “actions such as spontaneous meetings and blockade actions are being taken”.
At gas conference – Karner defends action against climate activists
