A 38-year-old Muslim immigrant was arrested at a Christmas market in Witzenhausen, Germany… for threatening people with a hatchet, while screaming, “Allahu Akbar!”
The phrase, which means “God Is Great” in Arabic, has become largely associated with terrorism in recent years.
Police report that the man had also been making “inappropriate” comments to women, who were out shopping.
The man attempted to flee the Christmas market on a bicycle, but was quickly caught by police. After behaving “in a highly aggressive and insulting manner to officials,” according to the Franfurter Allgemeine newspaper, he was arrested.
Police later claimed that the man was “drunk.”
Despite causing some panic at the Christmas market, no one was injured in the would-be attack.
The incident underscores growing German frustration with their large Muslim immigrant community. In 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had agreed to take 1 million Muslim immigrants into Germany each year.
But after several years of rising tension over immigration, including huge victories for anti-immigration parties, Merkel was forced to abandon her plans–and the German government has now implemented a policy where they’re paying refugees to “go home.”
