Far-right protestors in Germany demanded mass deportations on Saturday night, December 21, in response to a recent attack.
Five people were murdered and many dozen more injured earlier this week when a car crashed into a crowded Christmas market.
The defendant, a Saudi doctor named Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, is still in detention on several murder allegations.
According to police, scuffles and “minor disturbances” occurred on Saturday night as approximately 2,100 people protested in Magdeburg.
The protesters, some of whom wore black balaclavas, held up large banners with the phrase “Reimigration Now” and brandished “homeland flags” to emphasize their point.
The word is popular among far-right followers who want to expel all immigrants and others who are not ethnically German.
According to German newspaper Bild, the demonstrators marched through Magdeburg yelling that “anyone who doesn’t love Germany should leave” the nation. They also stated that “migration kills” and emphasized the need to “take back our cities, villages, and homeland.”
The suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist who has a history of anti-Islamic statements and has lived in Germany for nearly 20 years. The motivation for the attack remained unknown.
Authorities said the accused attacker drove onto the grounds of the Christmas market, gathered up speed, and crashed into the throng, killing more than 200 people in a three-minute attack. He was apprehended on the scene.
According to a police statement, a magistrate has ordered the suspect held in pretrial custody on five counts of murder, as well as multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. The list of victims included a nine-year-old boy and four women aged 45 to 45. Among the wounded, roughly 40 suffered serious or critical injuries.
