Surprising assault on Mette Frederiksen – Are hateful comments on social media the cause? On Friday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was attacked at Kultorvet in Copenhagen, which has caused a lot of attention and debate. Former Social Democratic Minister Joy Mogensen expressed her sympathy for the Prime Minister in a Facebook post on Saturday and pointed to the harsh tone on social media as a possible cause of the incident. She wrote that it was not surprising when you look at how the Prime Minister has been talked about online. Mogensen pointed out that public debate can often lead to a hostile atmosphere towards politicians, which can escalate to violent actions. She called for reflection on how we talk to each other on social media. Former PET (Danish Security and Intelligence Service) chief Frank Jensen, however, does not believe that there is a direct correlation between hateful rhetoric online and physical assaults. He emphasizes that there is a significant distance between threats on social media and actual acts of violence. “They can sit safely behind their computers and issue threats. They hardly ever do that when facing people in person,” he says. Nevertheless, this is something that PET is monitoring, and it is part of their overall security assessment. When B.T. spoke with Joy Mogensen on Saturday afternoon, she slightly backtracked on her earlier statements and acknowledged that Frank Jensen has more insight into the area than she does. She explained that her main concern was about the negative comments on social media. Copenhagen Police have stated that the assault on Mette Frederiksen was a ‘spontaneous’ attack and not politically motivated. The attacker was a foreign man who did not understand Danish. Joy Mogensen expressed relief that the incident was not politically motivated but maintained her concern about the hateful tone in public debate. “I will still hold on to my astonishment that I was not more surprised to hear about the incident. And reflection on the public conversation should take place,” she added.

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