As the right-wing anti-globalist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party continues to gain traction in the polls, opposition protests are intensifying. Following a recent poster campaign in Hamburg that urged activists to use illegal methods against the party, AfD candidates in two states have faced menacing encounters with protesters.
In Thuringia, where state elections are scheduled for September 1st, a protest compelled state AfD leader Björn Höcke to cancel a planned campaign event in Jena. Around 2,000 demonstrators clashed with police, who used pepper spray and nightsticks to disperse sit-ins obstructing access to the venue. Höcke’s personal security team judged the situation to be too heated to be safe and chose to cancel the event.
The demonstration, arranged by the organization “Rechtsruck Stoppen” (Stop the Shift to the Right), included Bundestag and state parliament members, FDP Mayor Thomas Nitzsche, city council members, and representatives from social organizations. Authorities recorded twelve criminal offenses and one administrative violation but reported no injuries. Protest organizers, however, told Märkische Allgemeine that they had recorded several injuries in demonstrators.
Meanwhile, state security in Brandenburg, where state elections are set to be held on September 22nd, is investigating threats to AfD candidate Jan Schenk. Schenk found the garage of his home defaced with graffiti saying “Hunt Jan S.” This is the second recent threat he has experienced. After his campaign appearance in the Eichwalde, the town’s market square was spray painted with “Jan Schenk blutig boxen” (“box Jan Schenk until he’s bloody”). Schenk was previously attacked and injured during an election campaign in 2021, and the wheel bolts on his car have been tampered with on several occasions.
AfD’s election campaigns and party events have frequently been disrupted by counter-demonstrators, including incidents where their posters were removed. Violent riots also targeted AfD members attending their federal conference in Essen at the end of June. Though establishment politicians and media often blame “right-wing extremism” for political violence, statistics reveal that AfD members faced the highest number of assaults in 2023, with 86 incidents.
According to current polls, the AfD could become the strongest force in both Thuringia and Brandenburg, projected to receive the support of 30% and 24% of voters respectively.
