Coronavirus: Lockdown protesters ‘spit on’ and shout homophobic slurs at German health minister

Germany’s health minister has been subjected to homophobic abuse and allegedly spat on while attempting to engage with a crowd of anti-lockdown protesters, as opponents of the country’s pandemic restrictions appear increasingly emboldened. Jens Spahn faced down the two dozen or so demonstrators gathered outside a community centre in which he was campaigning on Sunday ahead of local elections in Bergisch-Gladbach. Now viral footage showed the Christian Democrats (CDU) politician appealing for calm from the crowd as some in the crowd yelled “disgrace” and “gay pig”. North Rhine-Westphalia Police said in a statement on Monday that they had no evidence that the minister was spat on, but that a criminal complaint had been filed against a 39-year-old man who “insulted” Mr Spahn.