A man is in custody after he punched Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen as she was standing in Copenhagen’s Kultorvet, the public square of the city, CNN reports. A member of the Social Democrats, Frederiksen was reportedly not participating in a public event when she was assaulted by the man, who was quickly subdued. The man’s motivation is unclear, but the European Parliamentary elections are scheduled this weekend.
There was no official word on Frederiksen’s condition, but she is not believed to be seriously injured, though the country expressed shock. “Something like this must not happen in our beautiful, safe and free country,” he said on X. “This is ugly and unacceptable. Let’s show that Denmark is much better,” said Danish Minister of Environment Magnus Heunicke on social media, calling for unity, not violence.