Another Ridiculously Huge Anti-Lockdown Protest in Germany

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Tuesday November 10, 2020 22:59 by 1 of indy

COVID Rouge orders it dispersed, tries to block it off. Demonstrators persist into the night

More than 20,000 people demonstrated Saturday in eastern Germany against government-imposed restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus after a court rejected the city of Leipzig’s attempt to move the protest away from a central square, police said.

By the city’s calculations, only 5,000 people could gather in Augustusplatz plaza and keep 1.5 meters (5 feet) away from one another. With protest organizers saying they expected at least 16,000 participants, administrators had sought to have the demonstration moved to a larger location outside the city’s center.

“It is hard to explain how only two households are permitted to meet together and yet 16,000 people are allowed to demonstrate on one plaza,” city spokesman Matthias Hasberg told German news agency dpa after the appeals court issued its decision,

The court did not issue details about its reasoning.

Few people at the protest wore masks or kept their distance from others despite police warning from megaphones and officers walking through the crowds on foot to caution them. One woman carried a sign that read “For: truth, justice and freedom” while wearing a mask over her eyes and leaving her nose and mouth uncovered.

The city ordered the event shut down a little more than two hours after it began due to mask non-compliance.

Many protesters refused to leave. Police warned on social media that they were videotaping participants to document who was committing crimes or civil infractions with their behavior. About half the crowd remained when it got dark outside.

#Leipzig #Germany #Augustusplatz

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