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Manuela Schwesig: "Violence is not a means"
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
After a death threat against Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) in a Telegram chat, the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) has started an investigation.
A spokesman for the authorities in Rampe near Schwerin said it was being investigated because of a "threat".
In the text, which is assigned to the so-called lateral thinker scene in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it says: "She will be picked up, either with the patrol car, with the ambulance in a jacket or with the hearse, regardless of how she is picked up."
The post was made public on Monday by the Rostock left-wing politician Steffen Bockhahn and the Schwesig pictured there expressed his solidarity.
Schwesig responded with a post on Twitter: »I thank you for the solidarity and for the protection provided by our security authorities.
Violence is not a means, «wrote the SPD politician.
According to the police, demonstrators tried to march to Schwesig's house in Schwerin at the beginning of December, but were prevented from doing so.
In December there had already been death threats against Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) at Telegram.
The LKA then raided six members of a Telegram chat group.
The accused are suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence that endangers the state.
Several politicians had warned of the danger posed by Telegram in the past.
The new Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) announced a stronger crackdown on illegal content in the messenger service.
"We have to act more resolutely against hate speech, violence and hatred online," Faeser had said.
ptz / dpa