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Four Men Detained at Oktoberfest for Alleged Hitler Salutes as Police Open Investigation

Bystanders alerted tent security, prompting officers to register the suspects and file reports under Germany’s ban on unconstitutional symbols.

Overview

  • Munich police say the four 26-year-old Germans repeatedly performed the salute at a beer tent on the evening of October 2.
  • Officers detained the group, recorded their identities, reported them for using symbols of unconstitutional organizations under Section 86a, and later released them.
  • The festival’s security team called the Wiesn police after witnesses reported the gestures, and officers intervened before the men left the tent.
  • The case follows an earlier incident this Wiesn in which a 25-year-old Italian tourist was reported for a similar act.
  • Police highlight an intensified security posture with about 600 officers and 54 cameras—36 newly upgraded—and report 414 offenses after eight days compared with 317 at the same point in 2024.