2023-10-04 20:25:42
The federal chairman of the German AfD party, Tino Chrupalla, was hospitalized on Wednesday during an election campaign event in Ingolstadt. A police spokesman said police wanted to investigate whether third parties could be responsible for the incident. However, there is currently no evidence of an attack. The AfD had spoken of an “assault incident” against Chrupalla.
As the Bavarian city’s police headquarters also announced, the politician had to receive medical care behind the stage in the afternoon before the start of a speech on the Theaterplatz and was then taken to the hospital. No obvious injury was apparent at this point.
“In order to clarify the detailed circumstances of this medical incident, further investigations were carried out by the Ingolstadt Criminal Investigation Department,” the police statement continued. Visitors who took photos or videos around the event were asked to make them available to the police.
The 48-year-old Saxon Chrupalla has been at the head of the AfD for almost four years. He initially led the party together with Jörg Meuthen, who left the AfD at the beginning of 2022. Chrupalla and Alice Weidel have been the party’s leadership duo since June 2022. You are also chairwoman of the AfD parliamentary group.
Weidel had forgone a planned public appearance in the Bavarian-Thuringian border town of Mödlareuth on Tuesday, German Unity Day. A spokesman said there had been a “security-related incident” the weekend before last. “Mrs Weidel and her family were taken from their private apartment to a safe place by security authorities because there had been increasing evidence that pointed to an attack on her family,” he said when asked.
According to a media report, Weidel was on vacation on the Spanish island of Mallorca on the day of the planned election campaign appearance in Mödlareuth. According to research by “Spiegel”, she was in a town on the Mallorcan east coast on Tuesday afternoon. She was therefore seen with her partner in a beach restaurant. Weidel’s office confirmed her stay on the Spanish holiday island. “It is correct, Ms Weidel was in Mallorca with her family at the time in question,” a spokesman for the AfD leader told “Spiegel”. The “security-related incident” had already occurred on September 23rd, ten days before the canceled election campaign appearance.
After the “very disturbing event of September 23rd,” Weidel’s family followed the recommendation to “stay away from their home environment for some time, which was a suspected target of the attack,” the spokesman added. According to “Spiegel”, he left questions about how long Weidel had been on Mallorca and how long his stay on the island had been planned unanswered. On September 29th, Weidel took part in a meeting of the Bundestag. Several interjections from her are noted in the plenary minutes.
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), which is responsible for the personal protection of politicians, told the AFP news agency that the cancellation of Weidel’s participation in the event on Tuesday was “not at the instigation or recommendation of the BKA”. In addition, the authority “cannot provide any information about tactical measures or dangers.”
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