Several thousand demonstrators with the Lateral Thinking movement in Germany, which staged rallies during the coronavirus pandemic against emergency restrictions and vaccine rules, marched through Berlin on Saturday.
Some participants waved banners demanding a “reappraisal” of the government measures imposed in hopes of controlling the spread of the virus, as well as “consequences for those responsible.”
Demonstrators marched through the centre of the German capital and planned to rally near the Tiergarten park on Saturday afternoon.
A police spokeswoman said the start of the demonstration went peacefully, with the crowd numbering several thousand. A total of 500 police officers were deployed to monitor the demonstration, as well as several planned counter-demonstrations.
The Lateral Thinking, or Querdenken, movement formed across Germany during the coronavirus pandemic, with supporters repeatedly demonstrating against the measures to contain the virus.
In August 2020, an estimated 20,000 people joined a demonstration against the coronavirus measures in Berlin, although organizers claimed that the actual crowd was much larger.
