The AfD party conference started on time despite all the protests.Image: keystone
Jul 5, 2026, 2:38 amJul 5, 2026, 2:38 am
Tens of thousands of people took part in protests against the AfD federal party conference in Erfurt. According to the police, around 31,000 people came to demonstrations, rallies and sit-ins. The “Stand Together” and “Resist” alliances spoke of 50,000 demonstrators. The AfD party conference started on time despite all the protests.
While Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were re-elected as the top duo in the exhibition hall, numerous people gathered in front of the trade fair – in the afternoon, according to the police, there were up to 15,000 people there.
The balance of the AfD party conference.
Attack on journalists and pepper spray
After the first day of the AfD federal party conference, the police spoke of largely peaceful protests – 48 crimes were counted. The officers also registered eleven administrative offenses.
According to the police, there were minor skirmishes at some barriers, and pepper spray had to be used in some cases. The Apollo News portal reported that one of its reporting teams was attacked by demonstrators. The editor-in-chief wrote on Platform X that one of his employees had been kicked in the back of the head.
The police could not confirm the specific incident. There were attacks during the operation, “particularly on live streamers,” explained a spokesman. According to reports, media representatives were slightly injured. Media protection teams are already available for press representatives, and there is also a media hotline where relevant incidents can be reported. “We are following up on every tip,” it said.
The police had previously reported that two journalists were injured when bottles were thrown at a meeting. A journalist was therefore taken away in an ambulance for further treatment. According to the police, an AfD citizens’ office and officials were also attacked in a street with pyrotechnics and paint bags.
Colorful and loud protest
Trade unions as well as initiatives and alliances nationwide called for the protests. Thuringia’s former Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left), DGB leader Yasmin Fahimi, Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens) and Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) spoke at the rallies.
In the evening, a descendant of the Jewish Simson family took a stand against the AfD: “Keep the name Simson out of politics,” demanded Dennis Baum. His family is still Jewish today. That never fits in with the AfD’s program, said the 82-year-old. The Simson brand mopeds such as “Schwalbe” or S50/51 produced in Suhl are cult among many young people and represent East German lifestyle and mobility. AfD politicians repeatedly show up on mopeds or organize trips, not only in Thuringia.
Video: watson/nina bürge
The demonstrations have been largely peaceful so far, Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) told the German Press Agency at midday. «You can be satisfied. It’s colorful and loud.” The minister said he hoped that the further planned actions until Sunday would remain non-violent. In advance, there were fears after calls on the Internet that violent riots could occur.
The police were deployed with thousands of officers – supported by forces from almost all federal states and the federal police, who also provided horses and water cannons, among other things. There had been “general staff preparation” for weeks, said Maier after a joint visit to the police situation center with Prime Minister Mario Voigt (CDU).
In order to avoid blockades by demonstrators, hundreds of AfD delegates drove to the party conference grounds in coaches in the early hours of the morning. According to delegates, they gathered before 4 a.m. at meeting points far outside the city. AfD leader Tino Chrupalla opened the party conference with mockery: “The early bird catches the worm (…) the antifa rioters missed their own disruptive maneuver.”
Thousands took part in sit-ins
At times, several thousand people took part in a sit-in on a section of Autobahn 71 near Erfurt and access roads to Erfurt.
The blockade on the A71 was broken up by the activists themselves at midday.Image: keystone
The “Resist” alliance had announced that it wanted to prevent the party conference with blockades. Despite the punctual start of the AfD party conference, it was satisfied: “These were the biggest blockades we have ever set up. “The anti-fascist movement is leaving this day stronger,” said Noa Sander from “Widerstellen”. The blockade on the A71 was cleared by the activists themselves at midday, and according to the city, the highway was open to traffic again in the afternoon. Some activists stuck themselves to tram tracks in a central square in the city center or let themselves down from a bridge.
General order examined by courts
The ban on demonstrations on some access roads in the area around the party conference has now been confirmed by the Higher Administrative Court. The Higher Administrative Court announced that it had upheld a complaint by the state of Thuringia against another decision by the Weimar Administrative Court (3 EO 283/26).
The background is a general decree. It regulates that access roads to the AfD conference venue as well as individual sections of the motorway are closed to demonstrations. It was issued to allow AfD delegates access to the party conference. The background was announcements that they wanted to prevent the party conference by blocking the streets. (sda/dpa)