Twelve police officers were injured at a radical left-wing protest in Cologne on Saturday, August 30th. The ‘Rheinmetall Entwaffnen’ (‘Disarm Rheinmetall’) alliance had called for the demonstration dubbed “parade against war” that attracted approximately 3,000 participants. Some protesters wore masks, used smoke bombs, and had protective gear, clearly prepared for confrontations with law enforcement.
The police stopped the march around 8:30 p.m. by breaking up the crowd and arresting some of the protesters. The officers used tear gas and batons to restore order as protesters chanted slogans like “Youth. Future. Socialism.”
The ‘Disarm Rheinmetall’ group said police used violence and tried to stop the march from the start. Die Linke party MP, Lisa Schubert, also claimed the police used excessive force.
