Was Tino Chrupalla attacked? The AfD party leader was taken to hospital on the sidelines of a campaign event on Wednesday afternoon in Ingolstadt. The public prosecutor’s office is now investigating suspicion of bodily harm. A spokeswoman for the investigative agency told the AFP news agency (the star reported). The investigation is ongoing against unknown persons.
According to Chrupalla’s spokesman, a “puncture mark” was found on the politician’s body at the clinic. Tests were being carried out for possible substances in the body. The police have not yet commented on possible reasons for the AfD leader’s admission to the hospital. A police spokesman told the DPA news agency that there was currently no information about a possible syringe attack on Chrupalla. “According to the current state of knowledge,” several people are said to have taken selfies with Chrupalla, during which there was slight physical contact, it was said.
Chrupalla later felt pain in his upper arm and was taken to the hospital “for further health problems,” police and prosecutors said. A “superficial redness or swelling” was noted there.
There is still no official information about the 48-year-old’s health. His spokesman said on Thursday morning that he was in the intensive care unit but was approachable. The AfD leader will probably be out of the final campaign campaign in Bavaria.
The criminal police called on any witnesses to upload photos or videos of the election campaign event on Ingolstadt’s Theaterplatz to an upload portal.
There is also turmoil surrounding Chrupalla’s co-chairwoman Alice Weidel these days. Weidel was actually supposed to perform on October 3rd, German Unity Day, in Mödlareuth, a border town between Bavaria and Thuringia. There will be elections in Bavaria on Sunday – the date should be the highlight of the AfD state election campaign. But the AfD parliamentary group leader didn’t show up. Instead, her spokesman said: “Ms. Weidel and her family were taken from their private apartment to a safe place by security authorities because evidence had accumulated that pointed to an attack on her family.” A police spokesman from Switzerland confirmed an operation to stern on September 23rd, but did not give any details.
A recorded video message suggested that Weidel was in a safe environment. At the appearance, an AfD representative spoke of a “greeting from the Safe House” – “this is Germany 2023”. Weidel himself says in the video: “I would love nothing more than to be with you today, but unfortunately I can’t.”
Then on the same day she was spotted in a public restaurant in the east of Mallorca with her partner. The “Spiegel” first reported. An AfD spokesman told the magazine that the “security-related incident,” as the Swiss police call it, actually happened. The family then followed the recommendation to “stay away from their home environment for some time, which was a suspected target of the attack.” Therefore, she did not communicate her whereabouts “for security reasons.”
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), responsible for protecting politicians, has not made any recommendation to cancel the appearance, a spokesman told stern. Weidel also appeared at a parliamentary group meeting with her co-chairman Chrupalla on September 26th, three days after the police operation, and took part in a Bundestag meeting on September 29th. When asked by Stern on Thursday morning, the BKA did not want to provide details about a possible threat situation or protective measures for the AfD leader.
In the past there have been repeated threats and attacks on politicians. According to the federal government, there were a total of 1,398 physical attacks on members of the Bundestag last year, most frequently on politicians from the Greens (399) and the SPD (386). The AfD is in third place (321). Overall, attacks against the traffic light parties have increased significantly.
Several alleged or real attacks on AfD politicians have made headlines in recent months, for example:
The BKA is responsible for protecting representatives of the constitutional bodies, which also include the Bundestag – and thus also the AfD leadership duo. The security group department regularly assesses the risk to individuals and, if necessary, takes protective measures, which can range from security advice to permanent personal protection. BKA officials were on site at Tino Chrupalla’s planned election campaign appearance, the Wiesbaden authority said in response to a stern inquiry.
Sources: Upper Bavaria North Police Headquarters, “Spiegel”, the federal government’s response to a small question in the Bundestag, Federal Criminal Police Office, “Augsburger Allgemeine”, MDR, “taz”, news agencies DPA and AFP
Editor’s note: This article has been supplemented with further information from the investigating authorities.
