Danish PM attacked by man in Copenhagen

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen was assaulted by a man who shoved her in Copenhagen, leaving her "shocked" days before the EU elections. European leaders condemned the "despicable" attack.

The perpetrator attacked Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen while she was in the middle of Copenhagen on Saturday; her office reported that she was “shocked”. 

The incident took place in the old town square area of the capital as a man came up to Frederiksen and attacked her. He was quickly apprehended by the police, though his intention was ambiguous to the public.

This was reported by Marie Adrian and Anna Ravn of the local newspaper BT, who said that “a man passed in the opposite direction and pushed her hard in the shoulder and she fell to the side. ” Though the women described the push as ‘rather forceful’, there was no contact with the ground and the Prime Minister sat down at a nearby cafe.

The attack has been met with criticism from many European leaders. It is worth recalling that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack as a ‘despicable act, which is against everything we stand for and defend in Europe. ’

It follows the shooting of Slovak Premier in the person of Robert Fico less than a month ago while greeting his supporters. The attack on Frederiksen also happened only two days before Denmark’s European Parliament elections, where the center-left Social Democrats headed by Frederiksen is the frontrunner.

Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said Frederiksen was shocked by the attack, Heunicke said, “It shakes all of us who are close to her. ” EU Council President Charles Michel also said he is outraged and strongly condemn this act of aggression.

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Frederiksen assumed leadership of the Social Democrats in 2015 becoming the youngest person to head the Danish government at age 46 when she was elected prime minister in the 2019 elections. She has before offended former US President Donald Trump when he proposed to buy Greenland calling it a ridiculous idea and also her government’s policy to slaughter millions of minks over the COVID-19 virus.