Chaos before the AfD party conference: activists block the motorway

According to the police, the majority of the AfD delegates had already reached the venue. In view of the blockages, the police called on road users to largely avoid the affected area of ​​the A 71. The “Resist” alliance, which sees itself as anti-fascist, wrote on Saturday morning about a “climbing blockade”.

In Erfurt itself, demonstrators also blocked squares and streets. According to the police, there were around 800 demonstrators at Gothaer Platz alone, so some tram traffic had to be stopped there.

Activists see blockade goal achieved

The “Oppose” alliance wrote on Saturday that it was “no longer possible to get through to the party conference” via the central “access routes”. The action alliance has thus “achieved its goal”. The police had previously reported around 200 buses with protest participants have arrived in the city.

On Friday evening, the bans on gatherings for certain access routes that the Thuringian State Administration Office had issued for the weekend were overturned in an expedited procedure. As the Weimar Administrative Court announced, the judges were convinced that a ban would also restrict the freedom of assembly of people who did not want to take part in illegal blockades. In addition, the “police emergency” claimed by the Erfurt assembly authority could not be determined.

Two-day federal party conference in Erfurt

The AfD, which is partly right-wing extremist, wants to go to one on Saturday from 10 a.m two-day federal party conference come together in Erfurt. According to the police on Saturday morning, the party conference “can begin as planned based on the current status”.

The party conference in the Erfurt exhibition halls is accompanied by calls for massive protests against the AfD. According to the city administration, more than 30 meetings have been registered. The authorities expect a total of around 50,000 counter-demonstrators.

Both the party conference and demonstrations against it should be able to take place

The “Resist” alliance had previously set itself the goal of completely preventing the party conference through blockades. The police wanted to take action against this in order to make the AfD meeting possible. She once again called on the protest participants on Saturday morning to remain peaceful during the demonstrations.

The party leadership is to be re-elected at the Alternative for Germany party conference. The co-chairs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are expected to be confirmed in office.