The car of Bernd Baumann, secretary of the AfD party, burned down near his house. The police investigation indicates a political motive for the incident, which the party says threatens democracy.
On Monday, unknown perpetrators set fire to the car of Bernd Baumann, the first secretary of the parliamentary club of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The car burned right in front of his house in Hamburg. The police are investigating the incident as a crime of arson with a political motive, the AFP and DPA agencies pointed out.
A statement published on the left-wing platform Indymedia suggests that the car was set on fire by members of the Antifa movement. “Fiery greetings to the accused, imprisoned and undercover members of Antifa,” read the statement, whose authenticity could not be verified according to the DPA. Baumann’s office said he was awakened by his security shortly after the incident around 3:20 a.m. The office also provided DPA with a video showing three burned cars and a fourth with clear signs of fire damage.
Police reported several burning cars in the Othmarschen district in the western part of Hamburg. She confirmed that one car was set on fire during the night and the fire then spread to three other vehicles. Leaders of the AfD, which is the largest opposition party in the German Bundestag, condemned the crime. According to Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, “an attack on the leader of the largest opposition party is a direct attack on democracy in Germany.”
