Car bearing slogans drives into gate of German Chancellor Merkel’s office
By Rick Noack and Luisa Beck,
Fabrizio Bensch Reuters
BERLIN — A car crashed into the gate of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government office in Berlin on Wednesday, causing minor damage and prompting an investigation into why the driver steered the vehicle toward the security cordon. The 54-year old man was taken into police custody and questioned.
He was behind a similar incident in 2014, said Interior Ministry spokesman Steve Alter. That year, a car crashed into the same gate that was hit Wednesday.
Police did not report any injuries on Wednesday and said the vehicle was driven into the gate “at very low speed.” Authorities did not immediately comment on the driver’s potential motive.
The vehicle carried two slogans, one condemning “children — and old people — murderers” and another reading, “Stop the globalization politics,” written on the car in large white letters.
The investigation is being led by the State Protection Office, indicating that a political motive is not being excluded. But a police spokesman added that the driver may have had mental health problems, too.
Merkel was scheduled to meet with state premiers on Wednesday to discuss extended lockdown measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Restrictions imposed amid the pandemic have prompted large protests across German cities in recent months.
In an emailed statement, a government spokesman said that “at no point was there any danger to the chancellor, the cabinet and workers inside the chancellery.”
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