AfD cancels meeting with extremist groups
The "Compact" magazine event is cancelled, others take its place: The AfD in Schleswig-Holstein organizes a gathering with the New Right, which spreads racist ideologies. Before the event, protected by police, there are protests.
The AfD in Schleswig-Holstein held a meeting with representatives of groups labeled as extremist in Neumünster. Numerous policemen secured the event at a Greek local. According to the AfD, approximately 100 people attended, as the police reported. The event was advertised under the name "Day of the Fringe" - "A whole Saturday with lectures and exhibitors!"
A broad coalition, including the CDU, SPD, and Greens, mobilized against the event. According to the police, around 130 demonstrators had gathered in front of the local in the morning. The organizers spoke of 200 participants. They protested with signs and banners against the event. The counter-demonstration began to disperse, according to a police spokesperson in the early afternoon. Fewer people remained.
The Schleswig-Holstein Interior Ministry viewed the event critically. A spokeswoman stated that several organizations among the attendees were evaluated as "constitutionally protected extremist" by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Originally, the "Compact" magazine, which was evaluated as extremist by the Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and banned, was also invited. AfD Vice Chairman Schleswig-Holstein Volker Schnurrbusch confirmed this to the dpa.
"First" Magazine among Participants
According to NDR reports, besides "Compact," the "First" magazine was also advertised on the original event flyer. Dietmar Munier, an active right-wing publisher for decades from Martensrade in the Kreis Plön, stands behind it. A publication and an online platform with a seat in Austria are also mentioned. The "One Percent" logo is also visible on the flyer: The association is evaluated by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a "constitutionally protected extremist endeavor" since 2023.
For the "Regional Consultation Teams against Right-wing Extremism in Schleswig-Holstein," the character of the event is clear: "The meeting serves to network various groups and currents within the New Right, which are united by racist ideology," they said in response to an inquiry from the NDR.
The cancelation of the "Compact" magazine event prompted the AfD in Schleswig-Holstein to organize an alternative gathering with right-wing extremist groups, attracting approximately 100 attendees according to the AfD and around 130 demonstrators protesting outside. Nancy Faeser, the German Federal Interior Minister, classified "Compact" as extremist, and it was initially listed as a participant in the AfD event, along with other questionable publications and platforms.
