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German President Joachim Gauck was booed and attacked by droves of people at a celebration of the 116th German hiking day in Sebnitz, Saxony. The people repeatedly shouted "Traitor!", "Get out!", "We don't want STASI Pigs" and "We are the people!". One man, carrying his young son on his shoulders, appears to have spit on him whilst exclaiming insults. Other citizens were heard saying "You killed our children" and "What have you done to us?". They were blocked by police in riot gear, to whom they said "You are protecting warmongers, shame on you!" The situation escalated and the riot police was forced to use pepper spray.
Official German State TV and State Radio reports are that "a handful of right wing extremists" have attacked the president and disturbed the otherwise peaceful and welcoming reception of the President. This is simply not the case, as seen in the video.
Heiko Maas, the German Justice Minister, called the attackers "cowards who insult the president because of their personal frustration". He himself was booed off the stage as a traitor by hundreds of Germans at the annual Labor Day celebration on the 1st of May. He said that they will be persecuted immediately, as "it cannot be allowed that such a tiny minority has influence on the political climate in Germany".