Denmark’s Prime Minister Frederiksen assaulted in central Copenhagen, man arrested

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen walked away following an assault by a man in central Copenhagen on Friday and had no outward signs of harm, a local resident told Reuters.

“Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was beaten on Friday evening at Kultorvet (square, red.) in Copenhagen by a man who was subsequently arrested. The Prime Minister is shocked by the incident,” her office said in a statement without giving further detail.

Copenhagen Police and Denmark’s national security and intelligence service confirmed the incident to Reuters but declined to provide more detail.

“She seemed a little stressed,” Soren Kjergaard, who works as a barista on the square, told Reuters after seeing the prime minister being escorted away by security following the assault.

Danish Minister of Environment Magnus Heunicke said on X: “Mette is naturally shocked by the attack. I must say that it shakes all of us who are close to her.”