A regional branch of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has held a controversial meeting with far-right groups in northern Germany.
About 100 people attended the event in Neumünster, according to the AfD branch in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The gathering consisted of lectures and exhibitions on the theme of preparing for the future.
According to police, a broad alliance of about 130 counter-protesters from across the political spectrum gathered outside the venue.
According to the organizers of the counter-protest, 200 demonstrators took part, carrying signs and banners, but dispersed in the afternoon.
The Schleswig-Holstein Interior Ministry in Kiel reacted critically to the meeting. According to the ministry, the participants included a number of organizations that are considered far-right by Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Representatives of the magazine Compact, which was recently banned by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, were originally invited to Saturday’s meeting, but an AfD politician confirmed to dpa that their invitation had been withdrawn.
