The Bremer AFD boss Frank Magnitz wanted to produce with the publication of a photo shortly after the attack on him "media concern". In a party-internal letter, which is available to SPIEGEL, the 66-year-old explained his actions. "It was clear to me that this would attract attention," writes Magnitz.
"We stirred up the entire nation and set in motion a discussion process that we would never have achieved otherwise." In the photo, the head of the AfD politician is seen with a gaping frontal wound. Magnitz confirmed that dpa was the author of the letter. But it should have stayed inside the party, he said.
The AfD member of parliament had been attacked on Monday last week in Bremen. The prosecutor investigates for dangerous bodily injury. Investigators released a video from surveillance cameras on Friday. It shows how three men pursue Magnitz. One of them jumps from behind Magnitz and rammed him to the ground with force. The politician crashes and hits his head. He spent two days in the hospital.
In the letter, Magnitz reiterates the suspicion that the perpetrators may have come from the environment of a left-wing demo that took place near the crime scene. There are no indications for this yet. Magnitz also fables a "high tick density in this area" due to an AfD-Watch location nearby.
Who is behind the attack is so far completely unclear. The authenticity of an alleged letter of confession that had surfaced in the network, the investigators doubted. Details of an initial message from the AFD on the attack had proven to be false - such as the statement that attackers had used a square timber (read more here).