Police have launched an investigation after a candidate for the Alternative for Germany party was allegedly attacked by a group of migrants while he was on his way to a campaign event.
Andreas Jurca, the head of the AfD in the Bavarian district of Augsburg and the local candidate for the upcoming state legislature elections, suffered deep bruising on the face and a broken ankle after two men allegedly approached him under the guise of trying to shake his hand, before beating him to the ground.
According to the mass-circulation national Focus news magazine, local police have confirmed that they received an emergency call from Jurca following the attack and have since opened up an investigation.
In comments reported by Junge Freiheit newspaper, Jurca alleged that the attackers were of foreign origin, saying that he was descended upon by a group of “southerners… and by southerners, I don’t mean Spaniards or Italians now.” However, he ultimately blamed the attack on the fact that the AfD party is so often demonised in Germany.
“That’s exactly why I do politics. These are the people who want to lead us back into tyranny. There is no political edict for violence. If we live in a democracy, then we must also be able to endure that others have different opinions,” he said.
The attack comes amid growing calls among the Berlin establishment to outright ban the populist party given its increasing popularity among the public. Ironically, advocates of banning the AfD have frequently cited a desire to protect democracy by prohibiting one of the highest-polling parties in the country.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned earlier this month said in a speech to intelligence operatives that “we all have it in our hands to put those who despise our democracy in their place” in a reference to the AfD.
The influential Der Spiegel magazine also joined in on the calls to outlaw the party, with an article entitled “Ban the enemies of the constitution!” The piece warned that “the AfD has become more and more radicalised. It’s time to defend democracy with better weapons”.
Meanwhile, candidates for the AfD are facing a potentially more dangerous threat, with the Frankfurt branch of the militant leftist Antifa group publishing the home addresses of dozens of candidates with an interactive map. The radicals said that the move was intended to “make life hell” for the AfD politicians. According to a report from Hessenschau, the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the matter.
Justifying the doxxing, the Antifa cell said: “Anyone who publicly runs for a fascist party stands for anti-human politics with his name. And this standing up for such a policy must have consequences in our eyes. If even one of the people presented stops doing politics out of fear, that’s good!”
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