A 39-year-old Polish man is being prosecuted in the Copenhagen City Court for assault against Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Social Democrats). The defendant stated in court that he had had “a bad day” and denied any illegal actions. During the initial hearing, special prosecutor Anders Larsson expressed dissatisfaction with the man’s unwillingness to provide clear answers to questions.

The unfortunate incident occurred on June 7, shortly before 6 PM, at Kultorvet, a square in Copenhagen. Here, the defendant encountered the Prime Minister by chance as she was on her way to a coffee meeting with a friend. According to the prosecution, the case centers around the man delivering a punch to Mette Frederiksen’s shoulder with a clenched fist, which is interpreted as assault against a public official. The prosecution believes the blow was a reaction to the Prime Minister’s political statements.

As a result of the incident, Mette Frederiksen had to cancel several planned meetings. On the same day, the defendant had also committed acts of fraud with bottle return machines at Lidl and Netto, two grocery store chains in Denmark, yielding him a profit of just over 100 Danish kroner (approximately 15 US dollars). He admitted to having been drinking but claimed he was not intoxicated at the time of the encounter with the Prime Minister.

The accused told the court that he believed Mette Frederiksen would speak to him as she approached. When asked if he had touched the Prime Minister, he answered a clear no and also denied feeling any shame regarding the incident.