Alright, a right-wing extremist demo in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district on Saturday got cut short after a few hours because of all the counter-protests. The folks at the neo-Nazi march didn’t get much past the start at the Ostkreuz train station. The rally leader wrapped things up early, and this news comes from the police, as reported on X.

Want to know more about the march and the counter-demos? Here’s the scoop: Over 850 people, way more than at other recent demos, showed up for the march, according to the police. The motto was “For Law and Order. Against Left-Wing Extremism and Politically Motivated Violence.” Turns out, the organizer had guessed about 1,200 would show up, but several thousand folks, far more than what the police recorded, made a lot of noise to protest the neo-Nazi demo. Over 2,000 people turned up, but not as many as 5,000, based on the police report. They had set up barricades to keep the marchers and protesters apart and had reinforcements from Bavaria and Bremen. Some counter-protesters blocked the streets, creating 15 separate counter-protest areas.

Now about those arrests: There were scuffles, and the anger was palpable. Left-wing protesters tried to push through the barriers, but the police used pepper spray to keep them back. A few people got temporarily detained. The police made around 100 arrests, most likely because of the ban on wearing masks. Three people were legally prohibited from attending due to past behaviors, including one guy who gave a Hitler salute.

This was the third demo by right-wing extremists since December under the same banner: “For law and order. Against left-wing extremism and politically motivated violence.” The last event had about 150 neo-Nazis, while the first one back in December had roughly 60.

This report was edited by Louis Oelofse.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-police-arrest-scores-as-neo-nazi-march-blocked/a-72008289?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf