Police Protect Trans District Administrator Candidate After Death Threat

Participation in Koblenz’s Christopher Street Day Pride parade and her involvement in local municipal politics led Line Bratenstein to a serious security incident. According to the WW-Kurier, the transgender candidate from The Left was confronted with an explicit threat of violence on social media just before the Westerwald district’s county administrator election last weekend.

Under one of her online posts, a user openly threatened last week to run over the 48-year-old special education teacher with a vehicle. The comment appeared in direct temporal conjunction with the public announcement of her participation in Koblenz’s CSD.

Swift Intervention by Authorities and Protective Measures at the CSD

After Bratenstein promptly reported the threat, authorities classified the situation as security-relevant. Police continued their investigation that night to identify the author and announced a so-called Gefährderansprache—a formal police outreach to the person deemed potentially dangerous. For Bratenstein’s appearance at Koblenz’s CSD, security personnel adjusted the security plan; on site, the command center maintained direct contact with the politician to ensure protective measures.

Bratenstein remained determined in the face of the incident and underscored the importance of visibility: “Queer people have the same right to be visible, to be politically active, and to move freely in public spaces, just like everyone else.”

At the same time, she urged that digital violence and queer-hostility online should not be dismissed as a fringe issue. When digital hatred escalates into concrete murder threats, it must be pursued and treated seriously. She highlighted how crucial the swift action of the authorities had been for her sense of safety on the ground.

In the county election, Bratenstein earned 4.2 percent—a bit more than The Left’s share in the district during the state election. She expressed satisfaction with the result on Instagram. In the runoff, the CDU candidate will face the SPD candidate.