A deputy of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) bit a protester during a scuffle outside the AfD party congress in the western city of Essen on Saturday.
Stefan Hrdy, 67, claimed in an interview with dpa on Sunday that he bit the person in self-defense amid an “escalating situation” with anti-AfD protesters who tried to block the Grughalle arena where the congress is being held.
A spokeswoman for the police in Essen stated that she was aware of the biting incident through the media, but that she could not yet say whether the person bitten by Hrdy had filed a report.
The police investigation into the incident is still ongoing, the spokeswoman said.
Hrdy told dpa he was driving to the location when he came across a protest blockade. When he got out of his car to ask a police officer to clear the road for him, he said he was suddenly attacked.
“Then I got a kick in my right calf, fell down and two or three fell on top of me, and then a kick came from the right, I was able to dodge a little bit, then I grabbed the leg and bit down so I didn’t get kicked again,” Hrdy said.
At that point, Hrdy said, police officers intervened and he was able to get up and continue driving.
The newspaper Bild published a video of the incident, showing Hrdy walking towards a police cordon. Several protesters get in his way, a commotion ensues and Hrdy falls to the ground.
Parts of the video do not match Hrdy’s account: it only shows a protester lying on top of him with his leg and Hrdy biting his calf. The kick to the calf that Hrdy described is also not seen in the video, although the view of the fight is partially obscured.
Hrdy, a retired police officer who joined the AfD in 2016, said he planned to press charges. He has no visible injuries from the incident.
The AfD party conference on Saturday was accompanied by mass protests that drew tens of thousands of people. At times, there were violent clashes.
According to police reports, 28 officers were injured in clashes between police and activists, one seriously.
Large groups of people, sometimes several hundred, repeatedly tried to prevent the delegates from participating or to break through police barriers, police said Saturday evening.
