AfD Federal Party Conference in Erfurt: Tens of Thousands of Demonstrators and Large Police Deployment Expected

City of Erfurt Facing a State of Emergency

Security authorities expect tens of thousands of participants around the event at the trade fair grounds and fear blockades. Specifically, 50,000 mostly peaceful counter-demonstrators are anticipated, including up to 2,500 activists prepared to use violence, according to estimates by the German Police Union. Around 30 counter-demonstrations have been registered. At the same time, more than 200 buses are expected to arrive in Erfurt by Saturday morning.

The Thuringian police say they are deploying in large numbers and are being supported by forces from nearly all states and the federal police, including mounted units and water cannon. The security forces assume this will be the largest police operation in Thuringia since reunification. Police were already deployed with thousands of officers the day before. The state police have so far recorded 69 criminal offenses, predominantly graffiti.

Blockade Plans and Legal Dispute

The alliance "Widersetzen" has announced that it will prevent the AfD party conference through blockades and intends to block access roads to the venue. A spokesperson for the alliance stated: "Wir werden uns mit Zehntausenden, mit unseren Körpern entschlossen dem Faschismus entgegenstellen." The alliance, which describes itself as an "antifaschistisches Aktionsbündnis für alle," says it has been active in the Thuringian state capital since mid-April and announced that it would not comply with the assembly ban on the access roads.

Emergency motions were filed against the assembly bans on central access roads and highway sections that the Thuringian State Administrative Office had imposed for the duration of the party conference. Individual AfD members had filed criminal complaints in advance against the plans of the alliance "Widersetzen." Charlotte Greipl, a spokesperson for ZDF Law and Justice, pointed out that parties as central elements of the democratic order enjoy special protection under the Basic Law. Demonstrating against the party conference, including peaceful blockades, is in principle covered by freedom of assembly and freedom of expression; whether a blockade constitutes criminal coercion must be examined on a case-by-case basis.

Calls for Peaceful Protest

Bodo Ramelow, the Left Party politician and former Thuringian Minister-President who says he personally does not support preventive blockades, explicitly called for peaceful protests. Ramelow told the media portal Politico: "Gewalt sei kein legitimes Mittel, sich politisch auseinanderzusetzen." He also distanced himself from a call by a left-wing alliance to completely prevent the party conference through blockades. At the same time, the current Vice President of the Bundestag considers the protests themselves to be justified. Ramelow told the German Press Agency: "Ich lehne jede Form von selbst legitimierter Gewalt ab." He pointed out that the choice of Erfurt as the conference venue, exactly 100 years after an NSDAP Reich Party Conference in Weimar, sends a signal: "Die Türen für den Nationalsozialismus wurden in Thüringen geöffnet."

AfD member of the Bundestag Lucassen called on the federal government and the state on Deutschlandfunk to create conditions so that the party conference could be conducted properly. AfD co-chair Chrupalla stated that he hoped for an appropriate response from the authorities in the event of road blockades. The AfD refers to the applicable legal situation, according to which parties are obligated to hold party conferences, and rejects the interpretation that the choice of place and date is programmatically charged.

Voices from the Security Authorities

Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) told the dpa in Erfurt that attempts to prevent the party conference were unlawful. He added: "Ich glaube, dass die AfD eine klare Botschaft damit verknüpft hat - von Anfang an." Maier also said that it was becoming apparent "dass sich der radikale Flügel, der völkische Flügel unter Führung von Höcke seine Macht ausdehnen will - bis hin zur Dominanz." Thuringia's Interior Ministry and police made clear that freedom of assembly would be enforced for everyone, for the AfD as well as for the registered demonstrations. The police leadership announced that peaceful demonstrations would be protected and accompanied; violence and excessive infringements of fundamental rights by third parties would not be tolerated.

Numerous counter-events have been registered by a broad alliance. These include the alliance "Zusammenstehen," the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Fridays for Future, Omas gegen rechts, churches, welfare associations, the Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad-Club, as well as political parties. "Zusammenstehen" is planning a major rally on Saturday within sight of the AfD party conference. Climate activist and author Luisa Neubauer, who supports the protests, stated: "In Erfurt zeigen wir, wie eine wehrhafte Demokratie in der Praxis aussieht."

Broad Protest Alliance and Cultural Program

Alongside the conference and the protests, other major events are taking place in the city. On Erfurt's Cathedral Square, artists such as Clueso and Roland Kaiser will perform over the weekend; the city expects around 15,000 concert attendees on Friday and Saturday. Clueso, 46, comes from Erfurt and announced: "Unser Konzert ist definitiv an dem Tag ein politisches Konzert. Ich werde ein Gedicht vorlesen, wir werden 'Love the People' spielen, ich werde ein paar Ansagen machen." The singer Bosse is also performing on Saturday at a protest event in Erfurt and wrote on Instagram: "Die AfD ist eine verfassungswidrige und in Teilen gesichert rechtsextreme Partei. Ich werde mit vielen anderen aufstehen und ein Zeichen für Respekt und Vielfalt setzen." At the same time, an open-air event with public viewing of the Football World Cup is planned.

Additional tensions are being fueled by a call circulated on the internet by the "Berliner Antifa-Bezugsgruppe" via the portal Indymedia Deutschland, which calls for Erfurt to be "ins Chaos zu stürzen" and for the trade fair to be attacked with hundreds or thousands of people. Protest researcher Lisa Bogerts classifies this call as belonging to the "militanten linksextremistischen Spektrum." She stated that anyone calling for stone-throwing accepts that people will be injured; civil disobedience is not per se illegitimate, even if it is unlawful. She said militant forms of action are likely to make up only a small part of the protests.

Militant Calls and Assessment

The security situation was discussed at a special session of the Thuringian state parliament at the request of the AfD parliamentary group. Interior Minister Maier, former Minister-President Ramelow, and AfD co-chair Chrupalla all expressed the expectation that events surrounding the party conference would remain peaceful until Sunday. This news was broadcast on 03.07.2026 on the program Deutschlandfunk.