A week after the right-wing extremist protests at a Pride event in Bautzen, eastern Germany, neo-Nazis gathered for Pride in Leipzig, the largest city in the state of Saxony of the same name.

Pride celebrates the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBT+) community.

Several violations of the criminal code and the assembly law were identified, the Leipzig police wrote on Saturday on the X platform.

After “a final consultation with the assembly authority,” the organizer ended the event at the main train station with 300 to 400 people after a short time. The participants are currently being held there “for the implementation of all criminal procedural measures,” the police said.

As the police reported on X, the participants of the right-wing extremist rally displayed “typical rally behavior, sometimes aggressive or militant,” upon their arrival. They were subjected to an identity check and searched for dangerous objects.

Due to the incidents, the authorities have banned “gatherings that are related to events or can serve as substitute events” in the city area on Saturday, police said.

According to police, several thousand people have gathered since the morning for the Pride Parade on Augustusplatz, a large square in the east of the city.

Due to the events of last weekend in Bautzen, the associated risks and the political situation, the police are prepared for a major operation.

Up to 1,000 people were originally registered for the right-wing extremist protest under the motto “Proud, German, National” at the main train station. The much larger Pride march was supposed to pass within earshot and sight.

In addition, the alliance “Leipzig shows itself” announced several counter-demonstrations under the motto “No place for Nazis”.

A week ago, the Pride Parade in Bautzen was accompanied by right-wing extremist protests. The more than 1,000 participants were confronted by a counter-demonstration with around 680 people under the motto “Against gender propaganda and identity confusion!”

The right-wing extremist local party Free Saxony had also called for a protest rally. For security reasons, the Pride organizers canceled the planned closing party the day before.