Man held for driving into gate outside Merkel offices, again

BERLIN — A car crashed into the front gate of the building housing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s offices on Wednesday morning, causing minor damage, authorities said. The driver, who authorities say had been involved in an almost identical incident six years ago, was detained.

The Volkswagen station wagon hit the gate to the German chancellery at about 10 a.m. (0900 GMT; 4 a.m. EST). The slogan “You damned murderers of children and old people” was scrawled in white paint on one side of the car and “stop the globalization policies” was on the other.

Police spokesman Thilo Cablitz told reporters the 54-year-old driver was detained at the scene after driving at a slow speed into the gate and was being questioned. He said police were investigating whether he might be psychologically disturbed or had other motivations.

According to Germany’s Interior Ministry, the same man had already been involved in an almost identical incident in 2014.

At that time, he drove a similar, if not the same, car into the same gate but caused no damage. The car carried a slogan scrawled in white paint on the side that condemned climate change and the man was taken into custody.

Reports in 2014 said the man had done something similar before.

Interior Ministry spokesman Steve Alter said he did not know whether the suspect was listed as a possible threat.

The car used Wednesday had license plates from the Lippe area in western Germany and was driven away by the Berlin fire department showing little sign of damage beyond a few scratches.

Merkel’s office said there was only minor damage to the security gate.

“For the chancellor, other members of the federal government, and the people employed in the chancellery there was no danger at any time,” her office said.

The chancellery sits in downtown Berlin next to the Swiss Embassy and across from parliamentary offices. The exterior gate that was hit, which is next to a security office outside the main building, opens onto a public street.

There was no immediate indication of what prompted the incident, but it came on the day that Merkel was to meet with state governors to talk about extending a partial coronavirus shutdown that started on Nov. 2.

The government’s approach toward slowing the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions enjoy widespread support among most Germans but they have also prompted occasionally violent protests in some major cities.

_____ Frank Jordans contributed to this story.

David Rising, The Associated Press