In the Bavarian city of Schweinfurt there were violent clashes between demonstrators and the police on Sunday evening. When several people tried to break through barriers with massive violence, the officers could only stop them with pepper spray and batons.
During a police operation, a four-year-old child suffered eye irritation from a cloud of pepper spray and had to be treated by rescue workers. A complaint was filed against the mother, who also wanted to overcome a barrier.
“Small children have no place at demos”
The police are now criticizing the demonstrators who take children with them to rallies with the potential for violence. The federal chairman of the police union (GdP), Oliver Malchow (58), warns parents not to use children as protective shields at demonstrations against the corona measures. “These mothers and fathers accept that their child gets into a violent argument,” said Malchow of the “Rheinische Post”. Often even baby buggies are taken along during protests.
“Small children have no business at demos,” said the state chairman of the German Police Union (DPolG) in Bavaria, Jürgen Köhnlein (52), the Bavarian radio. “For me, this irresponsible behavior by legal guardians is a case for the youth welfare office.”
“The mother had to reckon with that”
Especially when it is foreseeable that participants will not adhere to the requirements of the Assembly Act, taking children with them is “absolutely irresponsible”. “The Schweinfurt case is exemplary: a young mother tries to break through a police cordon with her four-year-old child, the child gets pepper spray in their eyes. Mother had to reckon with that. “
Malchow complained about increasing radicalization in corona demos. He called on people who wanted to demonstrate peacefully against the compulsory vaccination not to allow themselves to be instrumentalized by extremists. He warns: “Anyone who goes to unannounced demos and takes part undercover must know that they are being instrumentalized, often by right-wing extremists.” (gf)