A group of far-left extremists attempted to shut down the screening of a climate change critical film at the offices of the populist Alternative For Germany, vandalising the area in front of the building with climate activist slogans.
The film, titled Myth of the Climate Catastrophe, was screened at the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party office in Schwerin earlier this week, but was met with protest from left-wing extremists who spray-painted climate activist slogans in the early morning before the screening, Schwerin Lokal reports.
The two leftist groups, Schwerin Against Racism and Schwerin for Everyone, also called for a demonstration at the offices during the screening, which was attended by 30 to 35 activists, with the local news website indicating that several protesters were also involved in the school strike protests instigated by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Dirk Lerche, a local member of the AfD, commented on the vandalism of the sidewalk in front of the AfD office, saying: “Society must send a clear signal against left-wing and eco-extremism. In any case, it can be assumed the offenders are from the left spectrum due to the choice of words.”
German conservative newspaper Junge Freiheit, who helped create the film, reported that district spokesman for the AfD-Schwerin Martin Schmidt also condemned the vandalism, saying: “Behind the alleged philanthropy of our opponents is an esoteric-totalitarian spirit, from which other opinions are suppressed and people are to be panicked before the impending end of the world.”
Many protests, often violent, have been directed toward the AfD for years in Germany. On Wednesday, the party’s Thuringia leader Björn Höcke received a suspicious substance to his home address which he brought to the state parliament to open.
The building had to be partially closed off as experts in hazmat suits examined the contents of the package. Police say they have ruled out explosives, but have not identified the substance in the package.
AfD members have been subjected to many violent attacks over the last several years, with one estimate released in 2016 cataloguing over 800 separate attacks on members and their property.
Last year, the infamous far-left extremist Antifa movement released an “assassination guide” directed at AfD members that showcased methods to kill politicians and escape being caught.
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