A Polish man was sentenced to four months in prison on Wednesday for assaulting the Danish prime minister and sexually harassing another man. He will be deported and banned from re-entering Denmark for six years.
The unidentified 39-year-old man, who has been in pre-trial detention since the assault, is accused of striking Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the right shoulder with a clenched fist, causing her to lose her balance but not fall. Frederiksen was suffering from whiplash at the time.
Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen attacked in Copenhagen, man arrested
The verdict was handed down by the Copenhagen District Court, which did not appeal. The court said the assault “highlights the violent nature of the violence and that the violence against the Prime Minister occurred in the context of the performance of his duties as Prime Minister.”
The man also confessed to other charges in court, including sexual harassment by exposing himself completely naked to passers-by at a commuter train station and groping women, as well as stealing bottles and cans with receipts from two supermarkets.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen attends a ceremony at the Danish Memorial outside Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Normandy, Thursday, June 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)
Prosecutor Anders Larsson on Wednesday sought a four-month sentence for assaulting the prime minister and exposing his genitals to passers-by, state broadcaster DR said, adding that while his sexual acts were not vulgar, they were “certainly unpleasant” for onlookers.
“His actions and attitude are a far cry from the citizen he should be in our society,” Larson told the court, according to DR.
Frederiksen was attacked in a busy square in central Copenhagen during a break in electioneering for a new European Parliament. The 46-year-old prime minister, who has been in power since 2019, was campaigning for her party’s EU candidate, Christer Schaerder-Mosse, who was elected. The attack was not related to the electioneering.
The attack comes amid widespread violence against politicians across Europe ahead of European Union elections.
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In May, a candidate for Germany’s center-left Social Democratic Party was beaten and seriously injured during an election campaign.
The campaign was overshadowed by an assassination attempt on Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15, sending shockwaves through the country and sending ripples across Europe. Fico was shot in the abdomen and seriously injured. A suspect was quickly arrested and charged with terrorism.
