Following protests that occurred alongside the ARD “Summer Interview” featuring AfD leader Alice Weidel in Berlin, the police have initiated investigations against those deemed responsible.
According to a police statement released on Monday, the assembly was not registered in advance as required by the Berlin Assembly Freedom Act. A 64-year-old woman identified herself to officers as the person registering the assembly and acting as its leader, organizing what she termed a spontaneous demonstration against providing a platform for the AfD. Police subsequently recognized the event as an assembly and documented its nature.
Simultaneously, officers discovered a locked tour bus displaying the inscription “Adenauer SRP+”. A continuous musical composition, demonstrably critical of the AfD and intended to disrupt the interview, was broadcast from the bus through a permanently installed loudspeaker system.
Police report that a contact person was listed inside the bus. The individual named, a 39-year-old, was contacted by phone and arrived at the vehicle at 3:20 PM. He stated that he was not the driver and could not operate the bus and described his presence as an “independent spontaneous artistic performance in public space” rather than participation in the demonstration. Police instructed him to immediately cease the sound emissions, citing their disruption to traffic and public order. He complied with the instruction at 3:30 PM. The estimated number of demonstrators present was approximately 40 individuals.
Authorities have initiated administrative offense proceedings against both the 64-year-old assembly leader and the 39-year-old responsible for the loudspeaker bus, suspected of violating the Berlin Assembly Freedom Act. Investigations are ongoing.