Police intervene
Troublemakers are pursuing Green Party leader Lang
February 15, 2024, 1:57 a.m
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While CSU boss Söder is fighting against the Greens in the festival tent, they have to cancel their political Ash Wednesday event due to protests for security reasons. Later, party leader Lang speaks in Schorndorf. As she leaves, she is followed by a mob.
Dozens of disruptors hindered the departure of Green Party federal chairwoman Ricarda Lang after a political Ash Wednesday event in Schorndorf. According to a reporter on site, the politician was booed late in the evening and received, among other things, shouts of “Get off” and “Ugh.” She also had to endure harsher insults. The troublemakers pursued Lang and her bodyguards for around 50 meters until they were stopped by police officers.
The mood in the city east of Stuttgart had already been tense. Several farmers demonstrated with tractors near the venue. One of them later spoke at the Greens event. According to a police spokesman, around 90 to 100 people were waiting in front of the hall in which the Rems-Murr district association’s political Ash Wednesday took place after the event ended.
Others blocked a nearby intersection with trucks, among others. The police assumed there were 30 to 35 vehicles at the peak. The protests began as a spontaneous demonstration and were then registered on site, said the police spokesman.
Police used batons
The Greens had previously canceled their political Ash Wednesday event in Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, for security reasons. The move was preceded by massive protests and blockades by farmers, among others. According to its own information, the state farmers’ association in Baden-Württemberg did not call for the protests or support them beforehand. According to the police, the incidents resulted in aggressive behavior and police officers were injured. Officers used pepper spray and batons. In addition to Lang, Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir, Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann and Jürgen Trittin also wanted to take part in the traditional event.
The Green Party leader also made the cancellation an issue in Schorndorf – and criticized the incidents: “Actually, it’s not normal that political events can only take place with a large police presence. It’s not normal that the windows be hit by company cars,” she said. It is also not normal for political events to have to be canceled due to a lack of security. “This is a situation that we must never get used to in a democracy,” she said. Anyone who prevents democratic exchange as such is damaging democracy.
Lang had already warned of violence shortly after the cancellation in Biberach: “Anyone who becomes violent leaves the framework of democratic discourse,” she explained. Other top politicians of different stripes also criticized the incidents in Biberach. In his marquee speech in Passau, CSU leader Markus Söder had once again labeled the Greens as an enemy. He described Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke as the “green Margot Honecker” and categorically rejected a coalition.