Right -wing extremist attack on diversity in Bad Freienwalde sentenced!

Right -wing extremist attack on diversity in Bad Freienwalde sentenced!

On Sunday afternoon there was a terrifying incident in Bad Freienwalde: a group of hooded men, between ten and fifteen in number, stormed a tolerance festival that was organized under the motto "Bad Freienwalde is colorful". This festival, which celebrates the diversity of society and enters against queer hostility, should actually be a peaceful meeting point for around 400 participants. Instead, it was shaken by a violent attack that inflicted at least two people in injuries. The perpetrators were equipped and destroyed the festival with impact tools such as sticks by tearing down the flag of the Greens. Eyewitnesses report blows in the face and the use of quartz sand gloves by the attackers. The police confirmed that they were investigating the assembly law because of dangerous bodily harm and a violation, but had to emphasize that it was not on site before the attack, although there were already indications of possible disorders.

A first suspect has now been caught. According to Tagesspiegel, he is connected to the right-wing extremist scene. The young man from Bliesdorf, an office in the Barnim Oderbruch, has already participated in right-wing extremist demonstrations in Berlin and Brandenburg in the past. It is worrying that he tried to disturb the diversity festival in 2024, but was prevented from it by the participants. He was also part of a violent group in an attack on participants of the "Christopher Street Day" in Berlin in 2023. The public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt (Oder) has taken over the investigation, but has not announced any further details for determining reasons.

The context of the attack

The incident in Bad Freienwalde is part of a worrying trend. According to [taz] (https://taz.de/neonazi- attack-in-bad-freienwalde/!6094115/) and the protection of the constitution, the right-wing extremist youth culture in the region is strongly pronounced, whereupon the right-wing extremist Tom briefly indicates. In the Bundestag election in February, the AfD in this region was able to unite over 40% of the votes, which illustrates the social basis for such attacks. In the past twelve months, right -wing extremist attacks by young perpetrators have increasingly been registered in Germany.

The numbers are alarming: In 2024, the right -wing extremist potential for violence increased by 50,250 people, an increase of 9,650 compared to the previous year. Such developments arouse fears in society and question the climate of tolerance that the festival was supposed to represent. Recently, other groups such as "German youth" and "III. WEG" have been active in the region and are suspected of being involved in political acts of violence.

The reaction of the city

Despite the violent confrontation, the mood during the festival remained largely positive, and the organizers were determined to further spread the message of tolerance. Interior Minister René Wilke visited Bad Freienwalde after the incident and sharply condemned violence. In the face of the tense situation, the organizers rely on solidarity and joint efforts to celebrate diversity and to raise a voice for hate.