Liveblog: Blocking AfD, fighting the rise of the right

Thousands of workers, school students, university students, and activists are today blocking the AfD party conference in Erfurt. In recent years, these blockades have been met with severe police violence, disgraceful smear campaigns by mainstream media against the participants, and weeks of public debate aimed at legitimizing police repression.

We are taking part in the blockades in Erfurt not only because we refuse to let the far right roam freely through our streets and spread their party’s hateful propaganda, but also because we want to provide a corrective to the mainstream media by reporting directly on what is happening on the ground.

Liveblog

15:10 pm: As all of our protestors have left the blockades and joined the main protest at the AfD assembly we are officially closing our live ticker for the day. Thank you very much for following us. Pleae be sure to check our website throughout the weekend for further articles. Please consider giving us a donation to support our work against the far right. If you are interested, you are more than welcome to join our Summer Camp in three weeks. You will find all information here.

14:32 pm: Gothaer Platz: The far-right streamer Weichreite is in attendance at the demonstration. The crowd is loudly demanding that the police remove him, citing the right to assembly, while at the same time activists at today’s blockades were beaten and pepper-sprayed by the police. We say: The police won’t protect us—we can only do that ourselves. After the police failed to act, the demonstrators managed to kick the streamer out of the protest on their own.

14:38 pm: Presumably the last group of protestors, composed of about 6,000 people, have just arrived in downtown Erfurt.

14:37 pm: There is an article available in English about our struggles against the AfD. You can find it here. More in English to come later.

14:28 pm: According to Widersetzen noise made by activisits on the outside are heard inside the hall.

14:25 pm: Stefan Möller has been elected as the second deputy federal spokes person.

14:24 pm: Currently the entire corner Brühler Hohlweg/Langer Berg has been blocked the the police.

14:18 pm: . The conference area is completely full. No one else will be allowed to the DGB Demo. The conference area is completely full.

14:10 Uhr: Sven Tritschler has now been officially elected as first deputy federal spokesperson with 50.70% of the vote; he accused Gottschalk of not being consistent enough in his stance on remigration.

14:02 pm: Sven Tritschler just said, “Remigration is non-negotiable” and “We won’t let outsiders tell us who belongs here and who doesn’t,” thereby apparently opposing the split from the Höcke wing in order to make the party capable of governing. A growing segment of the German public is counting on precisely this split from the Höcke wing and on cooperation with the “reasonable” factions of the AfD.

13:57 pm: The green group has reached Gothaer Platz in Erfurt, however, the pink, colorful, and silver groups are trying to get out of their current locations.

13:50 pm: Kay Gottschalk just said that the ten thousands of activists have been paid to block the party day. He also claims that Germany lost the world cup due to immigration and demands an immediate „remigration“ .

13:39 pm: Alice Weidel was just elected with a vote of 81.31% as the vice spokesperson of the party. She was also the only candidate. In her speech she spoke for more benefits in kind instead of money for refugees, for rigorous deportations and for atom power.

13:34 pm: The activists in the green, yellow and silver groups are making their way on the long road to the demo in front of the conference.

13:27 pm: Alice Weidel also thanks the German police saying that without them the conference would not be possible.

13:22 pm: The group „Anti Deutsche“ has also arrived on the scene. Our comrades, and their pro Palestinian stance, are standing against them as well. For us it is very clear: you can not fight the right and at the same time support the murderous intentions of the apartheid state Israel. Israel is responsibile for over 70,000 Palestinians deaths, many of those are women and children. Who wishes to stand against the AfD must also stand against the German reason of state too.

13:19 pm: Tino Chrupalla has been elected as Party Spokesperson with 70,5% of the vote. He was the only candidate for the position.

13:14pm: More and more protestors make their way to Erfurt.

13:00Uhr: Tino Chrupalla: „We will deport all who violate their rights as guests.“

13:00 pm: At the party convention, a report is given on a symposium against left-wing extremism held in May. “Left-wing terrorism,” “left-wing murder groups,” and other combative terms are met with loud applause from the audience. Their “Day X” would be Election Day, and according to the AfD, all those who support groups such as „Widersetzen“ as well as NGOs, should no longer receive funding. “Left-wing terrorism” should be prosecuted as ruthlessly as any other form of terrorism; Hungary is cited here as an example of how things should be.

12:59 pm: Tino Chrupalla spoke at the AfD party meeting and declared that a „revolution“ is not necessary and that all „revolutionaries“ have historically failed. He counters this with the “reality” of the 17th AfD party convention. Simultaneously he names the dual leadership shared with Weidel as a succesful partnership that „lives for Germany“. He continues saying „Country first, then party then the person“.

12:40 pm: The pink group from Berlin has reached Erfurt.

12:28 pm: Since early this morning over 10,000 activists have blocked the streets to the AfD conference. While the blockade did not succeed in delaying the start of the conference, due to early police escorts in the night, it is indeed a success that so many people are at the blocades and have confronted the police. Only due to the excessive police forces was the conference able to begin on time.

12:26 pm: The pink group is getting closer to the large intersection near Gothaer str.

12:00 pm: While several groups are gathering to journey together to the conference center, the silver group were blocked from their journey by the police.

11:33 am: The green and yellow groups have joined forces. Approximately 3000 people are on their way to join the others at the conference center.

11:12 am: The silver group is contemplating ending their blockade and joing the groups at the congress hall. How do we plan to continue long term? In order to defeat the AfD we must also defeat Merz’s government. Their militarism and social cuts are nothing but fuel to the extreme right. School strieks show us that it is possible for schools to organize against the authoritarian politics of the state. However, the movements success against the AfD depends on how we can avoid being coopted by the state, which seeks to instrumentalize the movement for its capitalistic government with the slogan „All democrats against right wing extremism“ all while continuously incorporating AfD policies and cooperating more and more with AfD. Read more Here

11:03 am: Taz reports that one activist was injured at the green group blockade. Activists were kicked in the head by police there. While the first streets were cleared the activists regrouped and went to resist attempts to disband the blockades towards the north.

10:46 am: Widersetzen reports „The day is not over, we look forward to an antifascist afternoon“ . We think we don’t only need an antifascist afternoon but have a much longer perspective: 17,000 people have resisted the police, been beaten and pepper sprayed. We have to take this resistance to our jobs, universities and schools in order to build a reistance against the AfD rule. In the same way we must organize against the authoritarian and anti social attacks from other coalitions in particular the current government. We must prepare for difficult struggles without a shred of trust or illusions in the institutions that ensured a smooth running party meeting. Pleae read more here.

10:37 am: The colorful group from Bremen is making its way to the congress hall.

10:31 am: While the orange group, according to Widersetzen, are currently experiencing massive repression from the police the group at Gothaer Platz are also being detained and attacked with pepper spray.

10:33 am: The yellow group makes its way towards the congress hall.

10:24 am: While the colorful group discusses their next step the pink group from Berlin makes their way downtown.

10:19 am: Although the AfD party day started punctually, the struggle against the right, militarisation and social cuts is by far not over. In our Summer Camp this mont we will be discussing how to build up a strong left and to destroy the right together. We are currently inviting activists in the blocades to our Summer camp, if you are interested you can find the registration link here.

10:16 am: Tino Chrupalla opens the AfD meeting and emphasizes that Antifa overslept while the AfD was up early. He emphasized „that’s how it is when you are used to oversleeping while the decent citizens go to work.“ He also thanked the police for „protecting democracy with life and limb and truly protecting us for the party meeting“. Chrupalla also threatened the DGB (a union here) saying that „we don’t need these kinds of unions any more.“

10:14 am: The colorful group from Bremen are currently waiting to see if a large group of police attack them or not. They are also currently trying to decide which path is best to get downtown.

10:12 am: The pink group has decided to join the protests downtown.

10:09 am: While activists were attempting to flee police, the police removed the muzzles from their dogs in order to threaten and frighten protestors. Currently activists are going to the congress hall to join the protest there.

10:08 am: The AfD party day begins punctually. The opening speech openly thanks the police for the security forces and their logic and strategin planning that made this possible

9:38 am: According to the far right wing newspaper „Junge Freiheit“ the AfD will be working on their list of organizations that have a coalition ban. Björn Höcke, the head of the Thüringer branch of AfD is calling for a revision under which former membership would be incompatible with AfD membership only in those parties and organizations that have “a platform aimed at abolishing parliamentary democracy and establishing a dictatorship” or that call for a violent overthrow of the government. Furthermore, he supports a ten-year statute of limitations, after which even individuals from such parties or organizations should be allowed to become members of the AfD. According to Jungen Freiheit, however, this topic has not currently made the agenda.

09:54 am: The blockade set up by the pink group remains undisturbed, mostly because the blockade is no longer relevant and it is being discussed what the next best path is for this group.

09:52 am: The yellow group is currently discussing whether to join the green group which is currently being represed by police or to join the protests at the congress hall.

09:42 am: During the deli discussions were happening comrades were distributing flyers with suggestions for joing the longer struggle against the AfD. If you are interested in reading these flyers you can find it

here

09:39 am: One of our comrades on location reports that during an attempt to clear the blocade one activists was repeatedly pushed to the ground while attempting to flee. Police continue to use excessive force against peaceful activists.

09:37 am : According to the a report by mdr all members of the AfD were brought to the congress hall arrived via Schmira, a part of Erfurt. All delegates were able to sleep in the hotel, and so consequently approximately 500-600 delegates were transported by bus with a large police escort. By 5:30 all buses with AfD members had arrived thanks largely to police assitance. The extreme right newspaper Junge Freiheit also reports that Alice Weidel has been in attendance for a long time.

09:30 am: The police continue to use pepper spray against our comrades in the „colorful“ group, even comrades with their backs to the police continue to be attacked. While the police hunted activists fleeing from them in the fileds they taunted and threatened them that the activists should „join them“. After some activists successfully escaped the police hid in the bushes and attacked them from behind. After apprehending activists police continues to kick them.

09:22 am: In the „colorful“ group songs of solidarity are being song and the mood is good.

09:18 am: The blockades are in full swing. The police continue to attack first insights into the blockades can be read here .

09:14 am: Taz reports that there is an „area of protection“ established around the AfD conference hall and only journalists with with AfD accredations are allowed to enter.

09:12 am: Several groups have united and are blocking the streets together.

09:09 am: An ambulance worker reports to a comrade that, at his post in the blockade, 40 people had already received medical assitance due to pepper spray, and one person had to be treated for facial swelling due to an attack from a club.

09:01 Uhr: Currently in our pink group there is a „Deli Discussion“ happening. This means that the activists are currently discussing the current plan and what the next step is. Whether it is best to stay where they are or go join protests at the congress hall.

08:55 am: According to the Thüringer Allgemeine most AfD members already arrived between 4 and 5 am. Widersetzen is, in spite of this, encouraging protestors to stay at the barricades.

08:49 am: Our commrades in the multiple groups are currently being pushed, detained and sprayed with pepper spray from the police.

08:45 am: The activists who were being surrounded on a field were able to escape and are currently blocking the Gottstedter Landstrasse and are being attacked by the police.

08:43 am: According to the far right newspaper “ Junge Freiheit“ the canine police force are securing that Activists can not reach the congress halls.

08:40 am: The pink Finger broke through the police chain and were met with a water attack from the police. The water attack quickly ended.

08:29 am: According to „Deutschlandfunk“ the AfD party meetings can beging on time. The police are actively and violently clearing the way for the far right against the activists and are actively violating their right to assemble.

08:26 am: According to „Wiedersetzen“ there is a secret sign system that has been set up on the side streets. These are made to secretly speed AfD members through to avoid the barricades. Activists are on their way currently to block this action.

08:22 am: The silver Finger on the Binderslebener Landstrasse is preparing for at attack from the ever nearing water canons.

08:18 am: While approximately 50 police are enclosing on the bright finger group more and more activists are joining them to support against the police.

08:14 am: According to mdr a protest group of approximately 10,000 people have arrived at the congress hall to protest the AfD. Inside the building, the party has a quorum.

08:12 am: Police are quickly closing in on the barricades of several groups. The mood continues to be good.

08:07 am: According to taz, the police have announced they will start clearing protestors away in Bindersleben. Police dogs and their handlers are ready for action. While police clear the path for approximately 30 vehicles protestors are shouting „Where were you in Hanau?“ and then immediately after close the blockade again.

08:00 am: The yellow finger continues to hold their position on the A71. Our comrades are sending us pictures of the current situation.

07:56 am: Several activists who previously were able to escape from the police are currently being surrounded in a field by police and are trying to get to the next blockade.

07:52 am: The AfD party conference is slated to start between 9 and 10 am. According to a mdr-Reporter most AfD delegates have arrived at the congress hall.

07:48 am: The yellow finger is currently blocking an area between two other barricades. The silver finger is blocking the Zubringerstraße which leads to the congress hall.

07:43 am: There are two helicopters circling several barricades. On the B7 and the B4 there are several blockages.

07:41 am: There are currently eight blockades throughout the city and they are blocking access to the conference in all directions. (according to Wiedersetzen) In addition there are several other small blocks around the city. The mood is super!

07:38 am: Activists from the pink fingers were able to escape from the police surrounding them.

07:30 am:  Our comrade Ayrin Girogia is currently on walking 2km from one bariccade to the next one to support the more protestors there.

07:27 am: According to taz there are no cars on the A71. However, on the bridge the police are armed with water canons and are preparing to clear the protestors.

07:24 am: People from Leipzig was able to get past the police and brought the protestors in the barricade some bread, apples and coffee. A wonderful way to show solidarity!

07:12 am: A group of approximately 500 activists have formed a blockade in downtown Erfurt. (According to the „Bild“ newspaper) This group has been attacked by police with clubs and pepper spray. Approximately 1000 activists have currently blocked the A71, a motorway into the city.

07:00 am: According to the „Tagesschau“, a German News Agency, several activist have glued themselves to the tram tracks at Gothaer Platz. The orange Finger is blocking the B7. 230 buses have arrived from all over Germany.

06:55 am:  300-400 AFD delegates (from 600) have already arrived at the Congress Hall in Erfurt in order to avoid delays from the barricades. (According to the extreme right newspaper „Junge Freiheit“)

06:53 am: Two fingers (Pink and Colorful) have surrounded 20 police cars – how the tables have turned!

06:45 am: The pink finger is currently blocking the main access road for the AFD. The yellow finger has also formed and also found a road to block. Several activists have been surrounded by police, some have already been detained while others were able to flee.

06:43 Uhr: The yellow finger has also formed a barricade.

6:00 am: The Pink Finger has formed the first road blockade and is currently being surrounded by police

0:00 a.m.: Shuttle buses to Erfurt are preparing to depart from various locations. Hundreds of buses from across the country are already on their way to Erfurt. On site, the police have already begun closing off roads so they can immediately confront the arriving demonstrators with repression early tomorrow morning.

• AfD
• Blockade
• Erfurt