AfD Congress Delayed by Protests in Riesa

The congress of the German right-wing radical party Alternative for Germany (AfD) started hours late due to protests around the venue. The meeting took place this weekend in Riesa, approximately 130 kilometers south of Berlin.

Initially scheduled for 10:00 a.m., only a small fraction of the 600 participants were present at that time, and the congress eventually began shortly after 12:00 p.m. Opponents of the AfD set up blockades nearby.

According to the DPA news agency, party leader Alice Weidel was among those unable to arrive on time. She is to be nominated as the candidate for the Chancellorship at the congress.

Organizers of the protests anticipate around 10,000 activists from seventy cities. Police are on-site with riot officers and water cannons, and a helicopter and drones are hovering above the area.

Demonstrators reportedly unscrewed tire valves from police cars and placed stickers on service vehicles, as reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung. The police intervened in several instances, using pepper spray to disperse activists near police vehicles and ending a blockade at an intersection.

Source: NOS

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