police investigated
Green member of the state parliament attacked in Lower Saxony
08/15/2023, 7:11 p.m
In Wittingen, the Green politician Schroeder is attending a music event when a man apparently freaks out. He rages over the Greens, throws Schroeder to the ground and wants to attack him. Other guests prevent worse.
Lower Saxony’s Greens MP Christian Schroeder says he was physically attacked by a political opponent. A man first verbally attacked him at a music event in the small town of Wittingen (about 40 kilometers north of Wolfsburg) with an outburst of anger against the Greens on Saturday and then threw him to the ground, Schroeder said. “He wanted to keep attacking me, luckily other guests prevented that,” said the deputy. He suffered bruises from the fall.
According to the police, Schroeder filed a complaint for assault on Monday. The investigations are carried out by the specialist commissariat responsible for state security. According to the police, the procedure is aimed at a 45-year-old.
“It was scary at the moment and also afterwards,” Schroeder continued. Nevertheless, he decided to make the case public to show that he would not be intimidated. He knows the attacker personally, but he never discussed politics with him or spoke to him that evening. The attack was clearly directed against him as a Green MP.
The Lower Saxony parliamentary group leader of the Greens, Anne Kura, demanded, Differences of opinion should be dealt with peacefully and with the necessary respect for those who think differently. “Here and now it’s about a clear stop sign against violence in the political debate,” she said.
SPD faction leader Grant Hendrik Tonne called the attack on Schroeder frightening. “Unfortunately, this incident is an example of verbal and physical failures in direct encounters and especially in social media. It should serve as a wake-up call for us to pay more attention than ever to respect and appreciation as elementary cornerstones in the dispute,” said Tonne. CDU faction leader Sebastian Lechner was also concerned. “I expect the criminal justice system to send a clear message to the attacker. This is the only way we can effectively protect elected officials from physical attacks in the future,” he said.