Following the weekend riots, Andreas Roßkopf, the chairman of the Police Union (GdP), characterizes the perpetrators as coming from a “left-wing extremist and migratory milieu,” urging politicians not to obscure the facts. Speaking to “Bild”, Roßkopf stated, “The violent unrest this weekend showed a brutality in some areas that is absolutely unacceptable.” While investigations into identifying the criminals were in full swing, initial results indicated that a majority of the perpetrators were left-wing extremists and people from migrant groups. Roßkopf noted that these groups were heavily represented, particularly in the acts of looting and property damage.
He sharply criticized statements, such as those made by Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), who had been cautious in describing the perpetrators. Roßkopf argued that colleagues who “held up their head for the rule of law” and performed their duties professionally confirmed these very perpetrator groups in their reports. He stressed that there should be no hesitation in stating the truth and found it particularly confusing that certain political sectors were trying to minimize the reality of the situation.
Similarly, Hesse’s Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) shared his observations after being in Frankfurt. Telling the television channel Welt, Poseck mentioned that he had been in Frankfurt and had personally seen that people of migrant background were engaged in acts of violence, behaving brutally towards the police and attacking property.
While acknowledging that this does not mean that the vast majority of people with migrant backgrounds in the country are not peaceful and righteous, and form a vital part of society, Poseck insisted that the culprits for these acts of violence must be identified clearly. He commended Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt for doing so, suggesting that Minister Pistorius was essentially “turning a blind eye to reality.”
After the arrests were made, Poseck confirmed that although “many of the arrested individuals hold German citizenship,” the majority also had a migrant background. He estimated that approximately 80 to 90 percent of the arrested individuals-and this is only the tip of the iceberg-likely possess a migrant background.
