A 39-year-old Polish man appeared in the Copenhagen City Court on Tuesday, facing charges for allegedly hitting Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Social Democrats) on the shoulder. In court, the man claimed that he could remember nothing from the incident and pleaded not guilty, while noting that he had been having a bad day.

Special prosecutor Anders Larsson expressed frustration over the man’s lack of concrete answers during the questioning. The incident occurred on June 7 at Kultorvet, where the Prime Minister was on her way to a coffee meeting with her friend, journalist Puk Elgård. According to the charges, the man struck Mette Frederiksen with a clenched fist, which the prosecution views as an act of violence against a public official due to her statements and actions. This incident led to the cancellation of several of the Prime Minister’s scheduled meetings.

In court, the defendant, who paused frequently and spoke slowly during his testimony, stated that he was not intoxicated but rather affected by alcohol on the day of the incident. He was wearing an American basketball T-shirt and had previously tampered with bottle return machines in both Lidl and Netto (popular grocery stores in Denmark), yielding a total of 110 Danish kroner (approximately 16 USD).

Puk Elgård, who was waiting for Mette Frederiksen at Kultorvet, described how a large man suddenly shouted and stood very close to the Prime Minister. She noted that the incident happened very abruptly and without warning. Although Mette Frederiksen remained calm in public, it became clear later, in her apartment, that she was shaken.

A bodyguard from the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (Politiets Efterretningstjeneste – PET) testified in court that the man shouted something unintelligible in an angry tone as he passed by the Prime Minister and struck her on the shoulder, and he believed he heard Frederiksen exclaim, “ouch.” Another bodyguard confirmed that while Mette Frederiksen appeared composed, she was clearly disturbed by the incident.

Although Mette Frederiksen’s own account was not presented in court, as the prosecution opted not to call her as a witness, other witnesses shared their experiences and reactions to the incident. In addition to the charge of violence, the man is also facing charges for multiple instances of violation of public decency, including incidents at Nørreport Station involving girls from a 9th-grade class.

A ruling in the case is expected to be delivered on Wednesday.