Karl Lauterbach, outgoing health minister in Germany’s progressive traffic-light government, was forced to flee radical Socialist Labour Day celebrations after being taunted and jeered at.
When Lauterbach, wearing a cap, reached the May 1 gathering, people recognised him and immediately started heckling him.
Video’s shared online show how the politician, visibly shaken by the negative reception, tries to escape, arms held aloft and escorted by two bodyguards.
People in the background can be heard screaming the Social Democratic Party MP’s name and yelling, “No fascist pigs.”
Karl Lauterbach flieht in Berlin am Südkreuz vor der eintreffenden revolutionären 1.Mai Demonstration.#b0105 #Berlin pic.twitter.com/1Yh8dAssbK
— redmediakollektiv (@redmedia21) May 1, 2025
According to the newspaper Berliner Zeitung, Lauterbach was on his way from a private appointment. Due to road closures, he had to make his way on foot through the May 1 demonstration.
This specific Berlin Labour Day event was titled “Revolutionary May 1st”, organised by more radical Socialists.
There were reportedly more than 15,000 people present and around 6,000 police officers were deployed in the German capital.
It was, according to the police, “largely peaceful” although there were isolated scuffles and 10 arrests. One officer was injured by a bottle thrown at him.
Firecrackers were sporadically hurled by members of the so-called Black Bloc, hard-left agitators, German news outlet Apollo News reported.
Additionally, participants chanted pro-Palestinian, anti-police and anti-Semitic slogans, according to media.
Members of the Migrantifa set off smoke bombs and chanted the banned slogan: “From the river to the sea – Palestine will be free.”
On the sidelines of the assembly, a message of solidarity from former Red Army Faction alleged terrorist Daniela Klette was also read aloud, criticising capitalism and condemning German arms support for Israel and Ukraine.
Klette was arrested in Berlin in February 2024 after more than 30 years in hiding. During her arrest, authorities allegedly discovered a cache of weapons, including a hand grenade, ammunition and a Kalashnikov rifle in her apartment.
She is currently on trial facing charges of alleged attempted murder, armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms
