Former Labor Party mayor attacked while standing near election stand at Vinterbro center in Ås

A man attacked ex-mayor Johan Alnes while he was at an election stand for the Labor Party (AP) at Vinterbro center in Ås. 

Alnes was standing outside the shopping center on Saturday when a man came up to him from behind and gave him a blow to the back of the head.

The former Labor mayor, who is now retired, told the newspaper Ås Avis that the incident occurred at noon while he was talking to some friends.

“Confused”

“I did not notice anything before the blow came; it was completely out of the blue. He said something, but I was completely confused and only saw his back as he went on,” Alnes, who says that he is in good shape after the incident, said.

On Sunday, the operations center in the Eastern Police District confirmed the incident to Ås Avis.

“A person who stood at an election stand has been slapped in the back of the head. The perpetrator then left the place,” operations manager Finn Håvard Aas said.

Criminal case

Hadded said that the police decided to open a criminal case, even though the aggrieved party initially did not want to report the case.

“We take violence against people who stand on such election stands seriously. They are an important part of democracy,” Aas added.

Earlier this week, an AUF member was attacked in Trondheim after the party leader debate. The attacker is said to have shouted, “Breivik was right. You must all die.”

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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