Court gave the 50-year-old man a fine and a two-and-a-half-year driving ban for endangering road traffic in conjunction with the event
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The Associated Press
Published Apr 15, 2025
Last updated 4hours ago
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BERLIN — A German court has fined a man for slipping into a VIP convoy for Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2023 and giving him a hug as he prepared to board a plane at Frankfurt Airport, according to German news agency dpa.
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The court gave the 50-year-old man a fine of 4,500 euros ($7,000 Canadian) and a two-and-a-half-year driving ban for endangering road traffic in conjunction with trespassing, dpa reported Tuesday. The man’s name was not made public in line with German privacy rules.
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The hug prompted an investigation into Scholz’s security. The chancellor was unharmed. It occurred as Scholz was returning to Berlin after a celebration for the 25th anniversary of the European Central Bank.
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Scholz’s spokesperson Wolfang Buechner at the time told reporters that the German leader “didn’t feel threatened at any point.”
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The defendant was under the influence of drugs and was found only partially responsible for the crime, dpa reported. The man apologized in the courtroom.
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Scholz’s days as chancellor are nearing an end. The German parliament plans to meet on May 6 to elect Friedrich Merz as the country’s next leader, if all the parties in his proposed government approve a coalition agreement reached last week.
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