Danish PM's street attack whiplash

A man hit Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen while she was walking in the middle of Copenhagen. She is said to have been shocked and hurt with whiplash.

Someone walked up to the candidate and hit her in a square in the old part of the city.

The perpetrator was apprehended swiftly, but the motive behind the actions remains unknown.

"This is an awful act that goes against everything we stand for and fight for in Europe," said Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission.

Less than a month ago, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times as he welcomed fans.

Now, another European leader has been attacked.

Marie Adrian and Anna Ravn, two witnesses, told the local newspaper BT about the attack in Copenhagen: "A man came by from the other direction and gave her a hard shove on the shoulder, which made her fall to the side."

People there said it was a "strong push," but the prime minister did not fall. Instead, she went to a nearby café to rest.

The office of Mette Frederiksen said that the politician was "shocked" and had "minor whiplash" from the shock.

The man, who is 39 years old, is scheduled to attend a meeting at the Frederiksberg Courthouse on Saturday afternoon.

Ms. Frederiksen, head of Denmark's Social Democrats, had attended an event for the European elections with Christel Schaldemose, her party's lead candidate.

The Social Democrats are the largest party in Denmark's joint government. Although they are still ahead in the polls, many people no longer support them.

Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said on X, "Mette is as shocked by the attack as anyone would be." We are all scared because we are close to her.

On X, EU head Charles Michel said he was "outraged."

"I strongly condemn this cowardly act of aggression," he stated.

The 46-year-old Ms. Frederiksen became prime minister in 2019 after four years as leader of the centre-left Social Democrats.

She was the youngest prime minister in Danish history after going through this.

She soon disagreed with President Donald Trump over her opposition to his proposal for the US to purchase Greenland.

Mr. Trump called her "nasty" after she said that the idea of a land deal was "absurd."

A committee that looked into her government's choice to kill millions of mink during the COVID pandemic in 2022 gave Ms. Frederiksen harsh criticism.