Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was attacked by a man in a Copenhagen square on Friday, and the man was arrested, his office said.
“Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was attacked by a man on Kultorvet in Copenhagen on Friday evening. The man was later arrested,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement to the AFP news agency.
No other details were immediately released and authorities did not say whether Frederiksen was injured.
Two witnesses, Mary Adrian and Anna Ravn, told the PT newspaper that they saw Frederickson arrive at the square, sitting by a nearby fountain just before 6 p.m.
“A man came from the opposite direction and pushed her hard on the shoulder, causing her to fall on her side,” the two women told the newspaper.
Although it was a “strong push,” they said Frederickson didn’t hit the ground running. They said the Prime Minister then sat down at a nearby cafe.
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
They described the man as tall and thin and said he tried to rush away but did not get very far before being grabbed by the cloaked men and pushed to the ground.
Copenhagen police confirmed an incident involving the prime minister but did not provide further details.
“We have arrested one person in this case, which we are now investigating. At this time, we have no further comment or comment on the case,” the police said in a statement published on X.
The manager of a bar in the square told Reuters news agency that he saw Frederiksen leaving after the incident, escorted by security officers.
“Well, I saw the Prime Minister sitting at this table with a friend, and a minute, two minutes later, four PET (Denmark National Security and Intelligence) guys came and talked about the arrest. Then she was taken by four PETs to some place in the middle of the square, and then around the corner to a took her through,” said Soren Kergaard.
Leaders in Denmark and elsewhere in Europe condemned the attack, which came days before Sunday’s EU parliamentary elections.
“I have to say that it shakes all of us who are close to her,” Danish Environment Minister Magnus Hunik said in a post on social media. “Something like this should never happen in our beautiful, safe and free country.”
“An attack on a democratically elected leader is an attack on our democracy,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson said.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, called it a “cowardly act of aggression”.
This is a growing story. Check back for updates. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting.
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