Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Polish man sentenced to four months, deported from Denmark for June assault on Danish prime minister

A Polish man was sentenced to four months in jail for assaulting the Danish prime minister as well as separate sexual harassment charges

Jan M. Olsen
Wednesday 07 August 2024 07:03 EDT
Denmark Assault
Denmark Assault (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Polish man on Wednesday was sentenced to four months in jail for assaulting the Danish prime minister as well as separate sexual harassment charges. He will also be deported and banned from returning to Denmark for the next six years.

The unidentified 39-year-old man, held in pretrial custody since the assault, has been charged with punching Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's right shoulder with a clenched fist, causing her to lose her balance but not fall. Frederiksen suffered whiplash at the time.

The Copenhagen District Court issued the sentencing, which the defendant didn't appeal. The court said the assault “emphasized the nature of the violence and that the violence against the prime minister occurred in connection with her performance of her duties as prime minister.”

The man had also confessed before the court to other charges, including sexual harassment by exposing himself to passing people and groping a woman at a commuter train station, and fraud involving deposit-marked bottles and cans at two supermarkets.

Prosecutor Anders Larsson on Wednesday demanded four months in jail for assaulting the prime minister and for exposing his private parts to passersby, saying while his sexual acts were not gross, they “were certainly uncomfortable” for those seeing it, according to public broadcaster DR.

“His behavior and demeanor are far removed from a citizen who should be in our society,” Larsson said in court, according to DR.

Frederiksen was on a private break from the Social Democratic Party’s campaign for the elections to renew the European Parliament when the assault took place on a busy downtown Copenhagen plaza. The 46-year-old prime minister, who has been in office since 2019, had been campaigning for her party’s EU lead candidate, Christel Schaldemose, who was elected. The attack was not linked to the campaign event.

The assault happened as violence against politicians in Europe spread in the run-up to the European Union elections.

In May, a candidate from Germany’s center-left Social Democrats was beaten and seriously injured while campaigning.

In Slovakia, the campaign was overshadowed by an attempt to assassinate populist Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15, sending shockwaves through the nation and reverberating throughout Europe. Fico was shot in the abdomen and seriously wounded. The suspect was immediately arrested and faces terror charges.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in