The German government denies Scholz’s comments, prompting raids on climate activists

BERLIN — A German government spokesman on Friday rejected the idea that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s comments criticizing climate activists had led to raids against them this week.

Police on Wednesday searched more than a dozen properties in Germany linked to the Last Generation group and seized assets as part of an investigation into its finances. Prosecutors in Munich said they were investigating whether the group was a criminal organization after its repeated roadblocks and other protests drew numerous complaints from the public.

Days before the raids, Scholz said it was “totally stupid to somehow stick to a painting or the street.”

Members of the Last Generation hit back, calling the raids a blow to democracy and accusing Scholz of downplaying young people’s fears about global warming.

Scholz’s spokesman, Wolfgang Buechner, said he did not know if the chancellor had prior knowledge of the raids, but that it would be unusual if he did.

Asked whether Bavarian prosecutors might have taken Scholz’s comments as a signal to crack down on the group, Buechner flatly rejected the idea.

“It should be possible for the German chancellor to answer the question of what he thinks about the protests in an understandable way,” he said. “I think the chancellor did it the right way.”

Buechner said the German government remains committed to fighting climate change and that protesters must obey the law.

A UN spokesman said Thursday that while governments have a duty to uphold the law, “people have a fundamental right to demonstrate peacefully to make their voices heard.”

“And it’s clear that much of the progress we’ve seen in terms of climate awareness and positive climate change movements is due to the fact that people have been protesting peacefully around the world,” Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

Environmental activists said they planned more protests in Germany in the coming days.