Death threats against Berlin police officers following Reichstag operation
Berlin police officers are being threatened with death threats on social media following an operation against demonstrators. The state security department is investigating.
Death threats against Berlin police officers following Reichstag operation
Several officers of the Berlin police have been inundated with murder threats following an operation in front of the Reichstag building. The "Berliner Zeitung" reports that the threats were spread via social networks and were directed specifically at police officers who were involved in the operation.
The operation was triggered on Tuesday afternoon against a group of approximately 15 demonstrators from the Polish "Ruch Obrony Granic". Among them was also their chairman Robert Bąkiewicz. The activists, dressed in yellow vests, wanted to march with a large wooden cross to the Polish memorial stone, but had not registered this procession properly.
The officers offered the demonstrators the choice of either remaining at the assembly location or going to the memorial, but without the cross. The group did not follow the instruction and set off. This was followed by physical confrontations. Several participants, including Bąkiewicz, were overpowered by the officers, restrained and briefly taken into custody. Later all were released again.
Recordings of the incident soon circulated on platforms such as Facebook. Police spokesman Florian Nath stated that by Wednesday evening approximately 6,000 comments on the subject had been posted. According to the newspaper, many of them contained hate messages. Some officers received direct threats, including a post with the wording: "I AM LOOKING FOR GERMAN SCUM. REWARD".
Due to the incidents, the state security department of the regional criminal police initiated several criminal proceedings.
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)