Activists driving a lift platform into the spruce at the Brandenburg Gate: routine checks were carried out by the police

Climate activists from the “Last Generation” group cut down the top of a Christmas tree in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. “This is just the top of the Christmas tree,” said a police spokeswoman on a lift platform.

Upon request, the police said that three people were taken into custody. She is now being investigated for, among other things, property damage.

During the protest on Wednesday morning, activists used the lift platform to drive to the top of the 15-meter-high Nordmann fir. They cut the edge with a saw hand, as the “last generation” climate activists themselves proclaimed.

According to their own statements, police were working on Pariser Platz around 9:20 a.m. to secure the site. A spokeswoman for rbb | also confirmed 24, it was said that the officials did not initially recognize the activists. “Routine work” was assumed on the tree. According to the information, officials suspected that the string of lights should be controlled: “There are many Christmas trees in Berlin, such controls are not rare.”

Only when the activists announced themselves through their protest and declaration were they recognized.

The emergency services then decided “not to put themselves or suspects in danger by interfering, particularly with vehicular technology,” police wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. The lift platform is an “everyday sight” in Berlin. Then the activists left them independently. It was said that when they returned to Earth, they were temporarily arrested. Officials took personal data.

As a direct result of the work, the Christmas tree remained dark on Wednesday night. Organizer Francesco Mazuhn told rbb | 24 “The string of lights is broken and will be fixed on Thursday.” It’s about making the tree shine again quickly. But it will take until Thursday because the lift platform must be obtained first, according to Mazuhn. A spokesperson for Laker Energy, the sponsor of the Christmas tree, told rbb| 24 No criminal charges have been filed yet. It was said that one first wanted to peacefully examine the facts of the matter.

Broadcast: rbb24 evening show, December 21, 2022, 7:30 p.m.