Free Republic

Six police were injured after around 2,000 people gathered in Mannheim to protest coronavirus restrictions, police said late Monday. The rally, which had been organized since last week on the encrypted Telegram chat app, surprised police in its size. Police told local media the “Querdenker” movement, which roughly translates as “lateral thinkers,” was behind the protest action. About 120 people who refused to comply with police orders were arrested, and a total of 121 were charged with violations of the law of assembly. Three individuals are facing criminal proceedings for various offenses. …

Facebook says it has deleted the accounts, pages and groups linked to virus conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers in Germany who are vocal opponents of government restrictions to control the coronavirus pandemic. With just 10 days to go before Germany’s parliamentary elections — where the handling of the pandemic by Angela Merkel’s goverment will come under scrutiny — Facebook said it had “removed a network of Facebook and Instagram accounts” linked to the so-called “Querdenker” or Lateral Thinker movement. The pages posted “harmful health misinformation, hate speech and incitement to violence”, the social media giant said in a statement. It...

Anti-lockdown protesters scuffled with Berlin police on Sunday, as hundreds of people defied a court ban on demonstrations. Police said some protesters had “harassed and attacked” officers in the German capital’s Charlottenburg district while ignoring roadblocks. Around 2,000 officers in riot gear attempted to quell the unrest. […] The demonstration was called by the “Querdenker” (Lateral Thinkers) movement, which has emerged as the loudest voice against Germany’s COVID-19 restrictions. …

Germany’s domestic spy agency is monitoring anti-lockdown protesters, claiming they are potentially involved in a plot to subvert the country. According to a Reuters report, the BfV spy agency is concerned that the demonstrations are being used as a cover for far-right extremists and people who believe in “conspiracy theories” about COVID-19 to incite violence. “Authorities fear that far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists who either deny the existence of Covid or downplay its threat to public health are exploiting lockdown frustrations to stir anger against politicians and state institutions five months before a general election,” states the report. While the...