Thuringia's Interior Minister Maier condemns violence

Minister of the Interior Georg Maier visited the scene of the destruction in Jena's city center today. Together with Lord Mayor Thomas Nitzsche, Head of Department Benjamin Koppe and Member of Parliament Lutz Liebscher as well as representatives of the police, he visited the main crime scene in Löbderstraße.

On Saturday evening, a group of people sprayed paint on stores in the city center, threw windows and smashed a glass door. The perpetrators are on the run and are being sought by the police. They have classified the attack as a serious breach of the peace and have set up a special commission.

Mayor Thomas Nitzsche is certain that the vast majority of Jena's population rejects such acts. This is also shown by the clear public distancing of all political camps. Head of Department Benjamin Koppe expressed his incomprehension about using violence to conduct political debates. Here, destructiveness is being covered up with the cloak of freedom of opinion. This was unacceptable.

Minister Maier demonstratively backed the tradespeople, who must be supported in such difficult times and should not be made to face extra difficulties. Politically motivated violence is consistently prosecuted in Thuringia, whether it comes from the right or the left.