GAccording to police reports, around 2,400 people took to the streets in Duisburg on Saturday to protest against the AfD's New Year's reception. The demonstrators first marched through the city and then held a rally near the AfD event hall, the Glückauf Hall in Duisburg-Homberg. “Danger to our democracy” and “shame for Germany” were written on protest posters against the AfD meeting.
The police deployed strong forces to keep AfD participants and demonstrators at a distance. Apart from a firecracker being thrown in the direction of the hall, the event was peaceful, as a police spokesman said in the evening. The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), among others, called for the counter-demonstration. By around 5:30 p.m. most of the demonstrators had left.
According to an AfD party spokesman, around 1,100 participants came to the AfD's New Year's reception with numerous speakers. Among others, the AfD-NRW state chairman Martin Vincentz spoke. An appearance by federal spokeswoman Alice Weidel was to follow in the early evening. Numerous media and TV teams were denied access to the conference hall. The party spokesman confirmed that this was due to a decision by the host AfD district executive committee.
On Wednesday, the media company Correctiv published research results on a meeting of radical right-wing circles with extremists and AfD officials in Potsdam. The report caused nationwide concern.
Also on Saturday, around 650 people demonstrated in Düsseldorf, according to police reports, to consider banning the AfD from a party. The demonstrators marched through the city center to the NRW state parliament. Here too, everything remained peaceful, as a police spokesman said.
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