Danish prime minister 'shocked' after she was assaulted in Copenhagen

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been assaulted by a man on a square in the capital of Copenhagen, state news agency Ritzau reported on Friday.

Police confirmed “there has been an incident with the prime minister” on Friday and that a 39-year-old man was arrested. He is expected to face a custody hearing Saturday, police said.

There was no immediate word on how the assault happened or if Frederiksen was hurt in any way.

In a statement to ITV News' US partner CNN, Frederiksen's office said: "Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was hit by a man Friday evening on Kultorvet [public square] in Copenhagen. The man was subsequently arrested.”

It added that the PM was "shocked by the incident," and did not clarify if she had been injured in the assault.

The reports gave no further details and it's unclear in what context the assault occurred and if it was in relation to a political event.

Two eyewitnesses, Anna Ravn and Marie Adrian, told the daily BT that they saw a man walking toward Frederiksen and then “pushing her hard on the shoulder so she was shoved aside.” They stressed that the premier did not fall down.

Another witness, Kasper Jørgensen, told the Ekstra Bladet tabloid that a well-dressed man, who seemed part of Frederiksen’s protection unit, and a police officer took down the alleged assailant.

Politicians in the Scandinavian country and abroad condemned the reported assault.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that “an attack on a democratically elected leader is also an attack on our democracy,” while Charles Michel, president of the European Council, condemned on X what he called a “cowardly act of aggression.”

European Union parliamentary elections are currently underway in Denmark and the rest of the 27-nation bloc and will conclude on Sunday.

Frederiksen has been campaigning with the Social Democrats’ EU lead candidate, Christel Schaldemose. Media reports said the attack was not linked to a campaign event.

Violence against politicians has become a theme in the run-up to the EU elections. In May, a candidate from Germany’s center-left Social Democrats was beaten and seriously injured while campaigning for a seat in the European Parliament.

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