During the Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstration in Buchholz in der Nordheide, police seized two prohibited knives. A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old were spotted on Saturday for attempting to disrupt the event, the police reported. When asked for their personal details, the two refused, which led to a search. Officers found the two illegal knives and seized them.
The youths are now under investigation for violations of the Weapons Act. In addition, police noted another offense: one of the two had used his smartphone while riding an e-scooter. Both youths were brought to the station, where their parents picked them up later. Additionally, an 18-year-old damaged a campaign poster during the CSD event.
About 300 people took part in the CSD demonstration
According to the police, roughly 300 people participated in the second Buchholz CSD. After an opening rally on the Peets Hoff open space, the demonstration marched once through the town center under the motto “No Pink Lists, No Trans Registries!” Participants carried rainbow as well as transgender and nonbinary flags to signal queer visibility in rural areas. Afterwards, there were information booths and a stage program until around 6 p.m.
The organizer, Charlotte Dörflein of the Queer Nordheide association, emphasized before the demonstration the importance of visibility, especially away from large cities. “Especially in rural areas it is important to show up,” she told the buchholz-aktuell.de portal. Prior to the CSD there had been a lot of hostility: “There was definitely a lot of headwind and many negative remarks,” she said. To the Landeszeitung she also criticized the city administration for “putting many obstacles in the way” of the association’s organization.
The actual gathering proceeded, according to police, despite the disruption attempts and individual incidents at the edges, without further incidents.
