Denmark's prime minister was allegedly attacked by a Polish citizen, not a Muslim asylum seeker

By: Nikolaj Kristensen
June 9 2024

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(Source: X/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

Context

On June 7, 2024, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was attacked in central Copenhagen. She was taken to hospital, where it became clear she had suffered mild whiplash from the incident. A 39-year-old man was arrested. 

Following the incident, several claims about the attack and the attacker surfaced online. One claim is that the attacker wielded a knife, another alleges that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker, while a third claims that he was a far-right extremist with ties to the Sweden Democrats, a Swedish far-right party. Examples of these claims on X (formerly Twitter) can be found here, here and here. 

Logically Facts found similar claims on TikTok, but the videos were later taken down. (Logically Facts is a third party fact-checker for TikTok.)

All three claims are false or unsubstantiated.

Was the alleged attacker a Muslim asylum seeker? 

On June 8, the suspect appeared before a judge for a preliminary examination. Here, it was revealed that the alleged attacker is a Polish citizen who's been living in Denmark since 2019 and has a Danish social security number because he has previously worked in Denmark. 

The man was assisted by an interpreter in court as he doesn't speak or understand Danish.

There have been no reports on the suspect's religious beliefs. No official sources - neither the police, nor national authorities, have indicated that the suspect is Muslim. 

"We do not record ethnicity and political or religious affiliations," the Copenhagen Police told Logically Facts. 

Did the attacker wield a knife?

There’s no indication the attacker wielded a knife in statements from the Prime Minister's office, eyewitness accounts, court documentation, or the police arrest report. 

"There is no information in the case that the defendant was in possession of a knife," the Copenhagen Police told Logically Facts.

Eyewitnesses told Danish tabloid B.T. that a man had pushed Mette Frederiksen. The Prime Minister's office told Danish media that the Prime Minister had been hit. The prosecutor charged the alleged attacker with punching the Prime Minister on her upper right arm.

The defendant has pleaded not guilty.  

The Prime Minister suffered pain and mild whiplash as a result of the attack. She didn’t suffer any knife-related injuries. 

On the evening of June 8, Frederiksen wrote on Instagram that she was saddened and shaken up after the incident but that she was otherwise safe and sound. She said she needed peace and quiet and to spend time with her family. The following day, she shared a photo of herself - smiling and seemingly in good health - to Facebook, reminding people to vote in the European election.       

Does the alleged attacker have right-wing ties?

Following the preliminary examination on June 8, the prosecutor wouldn't comment on whether there was any indication of political motivation.  

Police will investigate the motive, but Copenhagen police said on X that they didn't have a leading hypothesis that the attack was politically motivated. 

The arrest report shows that the police believe the man was intoxicated with alcohol and possibly drugs. A medical exam reached the same conclusion. 

The suspect will be held in custody until June 20. 

The verdict

There’s no evidence the alleged attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker. The suspect is a Polish citizen who's been living and/or working in Denmark since 2019. There’s no indication he wielded a knife during the attack. Danish police do not have a leading hypothesis that the attack was politically motivated. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.