In the debate about a possible ban on associations for parts of the “lateral thinkers” movement, politicians across all parties have urged caution.

"Ultimately, a ban only helps if you invalidate the crude ideologies behind it, bring as many people as possible back into the democratic discourse and thus tackle the problem at the root," said the chairwoman of the Bundestag interior committee, Andrea Lindholz (CSU), of the Rheinische Post Office.

Union interior expert Mathias Middelberg warned that a ban on individual groups could additionally mobilize the movement.

Berlin's Senator for the Interior Andreas Geisel (SPD) warned: "Before talking about any bans, the information that results from the work of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution should first be awaited and evaluated."

For the FDP interior expert Konstantin Kuhle, the Federal Interior Minister must carefully examine a ban on associations if the "lateral thinkers" group concentrated more and more on committing crimes during demonstrations.

"It must be clear, however, that the point is not to suppress criticism of the corona measures, but to systematically prevent crimes committed in the assembly environment," emphasized Kuhle.

The Green Party politician Irene Mihalic pointed out: "A ban on" lateral thinking "associations would probably have only minor consequences for the movement, since not all demonstrators and people organized in networks are formally club members."

The protection of the constitution is observing parts of the "lateral thinking" movement nationwide, which has been mobilizing against the corona measures for a year.

The organizers were accepting or looking for connections to so-called Reich citizens, self-administrators and right-wing extremists, the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced in April.

Children on corona demos

The Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter (BDK) criticized parents who take their children with them to protests like last weekend in Berlin.

“Prohibited demonstrations are neither a children's playground nor a useful leisure activity for young people,” said BDK chairman Sebastian Fiedler to the newspapers of the Funke media group.

Parents who take their children to such events are therefore acting “extremely irresponsibly”.

“You don't just accept contagion.

They also risk that their offspring will be harmed in violent confrontations, ”criticized Fiedler.

The presence of children would pose particular challenges for the police.

"This can make it much more difficult to break up a demo."

Presumably this is part of the parents' calculation.

Such behavior could also have criminal consequences, warned the BDK chairman.

"These parents should make themselves aware that they could face criminal proceedings, at least for negligent bodily harm, should something happen to their children."

Last Sunday, several thousand people in Berlin demonstrated against the Corona containment measures despite a legal ban.

There were also attacks on emergency services and the functionary of a journalists' union.

According to the newspapers, several videos showed children getting caught between the lines during clashes between demonstrators and the police.