A Polish man who attacked and punched Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen earlier this summer was sentenced to four months in prison on Wednesday. After serving time, he will be deported and prohibited from re-entering Danish territory for six years. The man, who in keeping with Danish law can not be named, was found guilty of violence against a public official.
On June 7th, the assailant by chance encountered Frederiksen at Kultorvet, a public square lined by cafes and restaurants in the center of Copenhagen’s pedestrian area. He approached and punched the PM with a closed fist on her right upper arm, which pushed her aside and made her lose her balance. The assailant was drunk at the time and, according to witnesses, said something angry and incomprehensible to Frederiksen.
The assault came close on the heels of politically motivated attacks on other European politicians, including the attempted assassination of Slovakian anti-globalist Prime Minister Robert Fico in May and numerous attacks on German politicians in the months leading up to the June EU elections.
The Polish national has resided in Denmark for five years and has previously been fined 22 times for theft. He has also been convicted of four counts of indecent assault. In one case, he groped a young woman at a train station, and on three other occasions, he exposed himself to young girls. Unrelated to the assault on Frederiksen, he was also convicted of a number of other crimes, including embezzlement and cheating with mortgages. As he has already spent two months in pre-trial detention, he will only serve another two months before being deported.
The court said that the ruling took into consideration that the man had recognized Frederiksen, and also that the PM’s security detail perceived the attacker as “aggressive.”
In interviews a few days after the incident, Frederiksen told Danish media, “I’m not quite at the top of my game, and I’m not quite myself yet. … It was a big shock. In that situation, you need some time with your family and those close to you.”
The PM was treated for a mild whiplash injury at Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet immediately after the attack.
