One week after far-right protests were held at a Pride event in the eastern German town of Bautzen, neo-Nazis have gathered for Pride in Leipzig, the biggest city in the same state of Saxony.
Pride celebrates the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and wider queer (LGBT+) community.
Several violations of the criminal code and the assembly law were identified, the Leipzig police force wrote on the platform X on Saturday.
Following “a last discussion with the assembly authority,” the organizer ended the event at the city’s main station with 300 to 400 people after a short duration. The participants are currently being held there “to carry out all criminal procedural measures,” the police said.
As the police reported on X, the participants of the far-right rally showed “typical assembly behaviour, and partly aggressive or militant behaviour” upon arrival. They were subjected to identity checks and searched for dangerous objects.
The authorities banned “assemblies that are related to or could serve as substitute events” for Saturday in the city area due to the incidents, the police said.
According to police reports, several thousand people have gathered at Augustusplatz, a large square in the east end of the city, for the Pride Parade since morning.
The police said they are prepared for a major operation due to the events of the previous weekend in Bautzen, the corresponding risks and the political situation.
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The far-right protest under the motto “Proud, German, National” at the main station originally registered up to 1,000 people. The much larger Pride march was supposed to pass by within earshot and sight.
Additionally, the alliance “Leipzig takes a stand” registered several counterdemonstrations under the motto “No place for Nazis.”
A week ago, the Pride Parade in Bautzen was accompanied by far-right protests. The over 1,000 participants faced a counterdemonstration with around 680 people titled “Against gender propaganda and identity confusion!”
The fringe far-right local political party Freie Sachsen (Free Saxons) also called for a protest. For security reasons, the Pride organizers cancelled the planned final party the day before.
dpa