Coronavirus DK: Riots, Danish style

Perhaps inspired by the MAGA mob that stormed the US Capitol building, a Danish group calling itself “Men in Black” held protest demonstrations in Copenhagen (DK) and Aalborg yesterday evening. The demonstrations had been announced in advance and were therefore legal. Demonstrations are the only exception to the limit on public gatherings. Several hundred people - indeed mostly attired in black, both guys and gals - met up at the Copenhagen City Hall Plaza around 7 p.m. to listen to speakers who led them in chants: “Freedom for Denmark! We have had enough!” 

The purpose of event was apparently to complain about lockdown restrictions, which have recently been tightened in Denmark, as they have nearly everywhere else. I say “apparently” because that was how it was described by more than one journalist on the scene. The police also reported that they recognized some figures from the “hooligan scene,” that is, soccer fans who fight with supporters of rival teams. 

Demonstrators at CPH City Hall Plaza. Photo: Jonas Moestrup / TV 2

At various times, the speakers expressed objections to the mask requirement and other restrictions, warned that the vaccine is dangerous, and asserted that the coronavirus crisis was a hoax (DK): “We are mad, we are tired, and we are about to go crazy. Where is that virus?” Individual protestors interviewed advocated the theory of a worldwide conspiracy led by Bill Gates and the pharma industry, claiming also that the Danish state had engineered the bankruptcy of small shops so that it could take them over for financial gain. In recent months there have been a few other demonstrations against restrictions, which have all been peaceful. 

“Smash the city in a non-violent way”
In the beginning, the crowd was content to light torches and listen to its leaders, who urged them on with a distinctly Danish moderation: “Are you ready to smash the city in a non-violent way?” The crowd might have had trouble interpreting that exhortation, perhaps unique in the history of insurrectionary war cries. They began shooting fireworks (which are legal only around New Year’s Eve), throwing beer bottles, and then marching down Strøget, the main pedestrian street in the commercial district. 

The police were well prepared for them, however. Vans full of them were waiting on Strøget with their batons drawn, and they drove the crowd back to City Hall Plaza. They announced over loudspeakers that the demonstration was over and people should disperse, “in the name of the Queen and the Law.” The crowd broke up into smaller groups and headed down side streets, with much confusion, taunting, and yelling. There seemed to be little direct fighting between the factions, although the demonstrators shot fireworks at police vans. 

Quick and painless
The demonstrators continued into the Nørrebro district, with the police following close after. The police arrested several people for fireworks violations, resisting arrest, and attacking officers. Smaller groups of up to one hundred coalesced at a few locations, and there were low-key confrontations. But by around 9:30 p.m., activity had quieted down and the police announced that it was “slowly putting the city to bed.”

The demonstrations in Aalborg were smaller and were dispersed even more quickly. A total of 23 people were arrested. No one was reported injured in either city. You can see several brief video clips at the links.