Left-Wing Candidate Targeted in Disturbing Attack During Election Campaign
In a troubling incident overshadowing the municipal elections in Herlev, Benjamin Haxha, the left’s leading candidate, reported an attack while dismantling election posters near a polling station on Monday.
Haxha detailed the experience in a press release, alleging that he came under fire from a group of masked individuals who launched what he described as pipe bombs at him from close range.
Chief Jannich Stæhr of the Copenhagen Vestegns Police confirmed to Ritzau that a gathering of young people had indeed fired fireworks at Haxha during the evening. The police responded shortly after receiving the report at 9:19 PM; however, they have yet to verify that the objects used were pipe bombs.
The assailants managed to flee the scene, prompting authorities to open an investigation into the incident. While Haxha fortunately escaped serious injury, he conveyed that the encounter has deeply unsettled him.
“I’m in shock. Being shot at with pipe bombs for simply removing election posters is utterly outrageous,” Haxha stated. “I’ve never experienced anything like this, and it horrifies me to think such violence could occur in Denmark, especially in the middle of an election.”
The left-wing candidate also shared previously with DR that his campaign has been marred by overwhelming challenges, including ongoing vandalism, threats, and harassment as the local elections approach their culmination on Tuesday.
Adding to the climate of unease, Copenhagen Police are also appealing for witnesses to another troubling event that unfolded on Sunday. During this incident, a campaign manager for mayoral candidate Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil (S) was assaulted at Christmas Møllers Plads in Amager, as noted by central investigation manager Kenneth Hviid Simonsen.
As tensions escalate, both candidates and their supporters are left grappling with the implications of such violent outbreaks in the political arena.
