German Chancellor Receives Unsolicited Hug; Man Fined $5,000
A German man has been fined €4,500 for infiltrating Chancellor Olaf Scholz's motorcade and embracing him on the tarmac. The individual's identity has been withheld by authorities, and in addition to the fine, he faces a two-and-a-half-year...
TroibNews 
A German man has been fined €4,500 for infiltrating Chancellor Olaf Scholz's motorcade and embracing him on the tarmac. The individual's identity has been withheld by authorities, and in addition to the fine, he faces a two-and-a-half-year suspension of his driver's license.
In May 2023, the man, who was driving a dark Audi, entered the chancellor’s motorcade while Scholz was returning to Berlin following the 25th anniversary of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. Upon arriving at Frankfurt Airport, the man exited his vehicle, shook hands with Scholz, and then hugged him. He was subsequently apprehended by police.
As reported by Deutsche Welle, the man claimed he had mistakenly joined the convoy, explaining that he was under the influence of cocaine after celebrating for two days. The court convicted him of driving under the influence of drugs and trespassing.
“People saying hello and greeting me is never something that particularly affects me,” Scholz remarked shortly after the incident, as quoted by AFP. “That’s very normal and I didn’t find this situation dramatic either.”
Chancellor Scholz’s spokesman, Wolfgang Buechner, informed reporters that Scholz “didn’t feel threatened at any point.”
The security breach raised public concern, particularly in light of the increasing instances of verbal abuse and physical assaults directed at German politicians in recent years.
In 2024, an assailant attacked Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s economy minister, during a library event. That same year, a group of teenagers assaulted Matthias Ecke, a member of the European Parliament, while he was putting up campaign posters, and aggressive bystanders harassed and spat on Green Party politician Yvonne Mosler in the street.
Ian Smith for TROIB News
In May 2023, the man, who was driving a dark Audi, entered the chancellor’s motorcade while Scholz was returning to Berlin following the 25th anniversary of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. Upon arriving at Frankfurt Airport, the man exited his vehicle, shook hands with Scholz, and then hugged him. He was subsequently apprehended by police.
As reported by Deutsche Welle, the man claimed he had mistakenly joined the convoy, explaining that he was under the influence of cocaine after celebrating for two days. The court convicted him of driving under the influence of drugs and trespassing.
“People saying hello and greeting me is never something that particularly affects me,” Scholz remarked shortly after the incident, as quoted by AFP. “That’s very normal and I didn’t find this situation dramatic either.”
Chancellor Scholz’s spokesman, Wolfgang Buechner, informed reporters that Scholz “didn’t feel threatened at any point.”
The security breach raised public concern, particularly in light of the increasing instances of verbal abuse and physical assaults directed at German politicians in recent years.
In 2024, an assailant attacked Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s economy minister, during a library event. That same year, a group of teenagers assaulted Matthias Ecke, a member of the European Parliament, while he was putting up campaign posters, and aggressive bystanders harassed and spat on Green Party politician Yvonne Mosler in the street.
Ian Smith for TROIB News
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