Asylum protest almost moves in front of Kretschmer's Dresden home

Participants of a protest meeting against a planned refugee shelter in the north of Dresden moved to the home of Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on Sunday. In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), dozens of people can be seen walking down a residential street behind a banner reading "No to the home," amid shouts of "Kretschmer must go." "Politicians must also no longer feel comfortable at home when they decide over people's heads," one man incited the crowd over the microphone. According to media reports, police sealed off the area around Kretschmer's home.

A rabble-rousing crowd had "invaded" Kretschmer's private living environment, Justice Minister Katja Meier (Greens) posted on X in the afternoon. Such "home invasions" were not an expression of legitimate political debate, but "a shameful attack on our democracy." Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens) spoke of an "unacceptable disregard for democracy", according to the statement.

The meeting in front of the old school, to which the far-right party "Free Saxons" had called, their procession and a counter-protest remained "without incident", said a spokesman for the police situation center on request. Three weeks ago, unknown persons had tried to set fire to the building intended for use as refugee accommodation. However, the flames extinguished before reaching the facade, which had previously been covered with flammable liquid.