Because of the federal party conference - First clashes at protest rallies against AfD party conference in Essen
Against the AfD party convention in Essen, protest demonstrations began early on Saturday morning. The first gatherings of the day, including a protest march through several city districts, had started and were "accompanied by the police," according to early Saturday morning reports on the Essen Police website.
At one point, a "larger crowd" attempted to break through the barriers at the protest sites. The police intervention "was prevented using pepper spray and batons," they stated.
The Alliance Resist declared that demonstrators had already gathered at various locations in the North Rhine-Westphalian metropolis as early as 6 a.m., intending to move towards the Grugahalle, the location of the AfD party convention. A demonstration march of nearly 2,000 people had already started from the Camp Against Racism. Additionally, protestors had set up the first street blockades.
The Verdi labor union secretary in Essen and Widersetzen spokesperson, Katharina Schwabedissen, stated: "Our peaceful actions of civil disobedience are the counterproposal to the AfD: diverse, multifaceted, and solidary." The AfD wants "to hollow out the welfare state and destroy our democracy." The counter-demonstrators are "the society of the many and we are showing today: Essen and the entire Ruhr area stands united against the AfD."
AfD delegates are to be prevented from traveling
A protest march under the slogan "Together Loud" is planned for 10 a.m. from Essen Main Station towards Grugahalle. "We are flooding the access routes to Grugahalle with our solidarity – and thus preventing the AfD delegates from traveling," stated the spokesperson of the Refugee Solidarity Circle, Alassa Mfouapon. He accused the AfD of trying "to drive us apart through racist agitation and push us back into the age of fascism."
The two-day AfD party convention had begun on Friday. Party leaders Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel, as well as the entire federal executive board, were up for re-election. The future orientation of the party in the European Parliament and debates on the upcoming state elections in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg in September and potential power options there were also on the agenda.
The Essen Police had previously clarified that non-peaceful protests, "particularly those aimed at disrupting or preventing the AfD party convention," were criminal offenses and not covered by the constitutional right to assembly. "Disruptions will be consistently prevented and criminal offenses (resolutely) pursued," they stated. The police urged "all citizens, who wish to peacefully express their protest, to clearly distance themselves from such actions."
- The United Services Union, a known critic of the AfD, might have joined the protest rally against the AfD party conference on Saturday morning, as they often stand against the party's divisive policies.
- Katharina Schwabedissen, a prominent figure in the Verdi union and Widersetzen, led the protest march from the Camp Against Racism towards the Grugahalle, where the AfD party conference was being held, accompanied by the police.
- During the protest march, a larger crowd attempted to break through the barriers at the protest sites, but the police intervened effectively using pepper spray and batons to maintain order, as reported on the Essen Police website.
- On Saturday morning, Alassa Mfouapon, the spokesperson of the Refugee Solidarity Circle, announced a protest march under the slogan "Together Loud" from Essen Main Station towards Grugahalle, aiming to prevent AfD delegates from traveling and denouncing the party's racist agitation.
- The United Services Union, along with other counter-demonstrators, joined the protest march against the AfD party conference in Essen, standing united against the party's efforts to "hollow out the welfare state and destroy our democracy."
