BERLIN (Reuters) – Security has been stepped up at Germany’s Bundestag (lower house of parliament) after the storming of the Capitol in Washington by rioters last week, Bundestag President Wolfgang Schaeuble has told lawmakers, Bild am Sonntag weekly reported.
“Berlin state police have arranged for a reinforcement of their forces around the Reichstag building,” it quoted Schaueble as saying in a letter to lawmakers.
A spokeswoman for the Bundestag confirmed that Schaeuble had written to lawmakers about the current situation but declined to give details of the content of the letter.
Bild am Sonntag also reported that Schaeuble had asked the Foreign Ministry for a report on the Washington violence and would “clarify with the federal government and the state of Berlin what conclusions should be drawn for Bundestag security”.
Angry supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, voted out of office in a November election, broke into the Washington Capitol, seat of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, on Wednesday. Five people died, including a police officer.
In Berlin, protesters against coronavirus restrictions stormed the steps of the parliament building during a demonstration in August. Some were waving the far-right Reichsflagge flag.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
