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Police break up far-right protest at Düsseldorf open air swimming pool

The Local Germany
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Police break up far-right protest at Düsseldorf open air swimming pool
The Rheinbad has seen additional security since a row allegedly involving over 400 people broke out in late June. Photo: DPA

A group of 50 far-right sympathizers were denied admission to a Düsseldorf swimming pool on Sunday, where they had gone to protest migration to Germany.

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Around 50 members from the anti-immigration group Bruderschaft Deutschland (Brotherhood Germany) headed to the ‘Rheinbad’, which pool employees told RP Online has a large number of customers from migrant backgrounds. 

However, they did not enter after 10 police cars arrived to break up the scene and take their details. 

The far-right protesters planned the pool visit following a vigil at Düsseldorf’s main train station held for a murdered eight-year-old boy, reported the newspaper.

The boy died last Monday after being pushed in front of a train in Frankfurt, along with his mother, who survived.

The suspect is an Eritrean-born father-of-three who had been living legally in Switzerland. The incident has caused many in Germany’s extreme right scene to speak out against immigration.

SEE ALSO: 'Don't allow hatred to spread:' Hundreds gather in Frankfurt to mourn child as tensions rise

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party quickly linked the case to a mass influx of migrants and refugees in recent years.

"The hideousness of this act can hardly be surpassed," wrote the party's Alice Weidel on Twitter, demanding that the government "finally start to protect the citizens of this country".

Building tensions

When the group arrived at the open air pool in Düsseldorf on Sunday at around 2:30 pm, security services called the police. The group left after their personal details were recorded by officers, reported RP Online. 

No violence occurred after officers carried out checks on the group and caused it to disperse before entering the pool. The Staatsschutz (State Security) is now investigating the incident. 

The "Broderschaft Deutschland" was founded in Düsseldorf in the summer of 2016 following a wave of mass-migration to Germany. 

Active largely in the southern districts of the city, it carries out marches for German’s allegedly threatened by violence, especially that it believes to be from migrants. 

The Rheinbad has seen a lot of tension this summer. 

Dozens of police officers arrived at the pool on the last weekend of June to calm a row which reportedly involved up to 400 people.

One person was arrested and the operators of the pool decided to close the facility early due to the drama.

SEE ALSO: Freibad fracas: Rows escalate at Germany's open air swimming pools

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