A German court has fined a man for sneaking into Chancellor Olaf Scholz's VIP motorcade in 2023 and hugging him as he prepared to board a plane at Frankfurt Airport, German news agency dpa reported.
The court sentenced the 50-year-old man to a fine of 4,500 euros and a two-and-a-half-year suspension of his driving license for endangering traffic in combination with illegal entry onto someone else's property, the dpa news agency reported on Tuesday.
The man's name was not released in accordance with German privacy rules.
The hug prompted an investigation into Mr Scholz's safety, although the chancellor was not harmed.
It happened as Mr Scholz was returning to Berlin after celebrating the 25th anniversary of the European Central Bank.
Mr Scholz's spokesman, Wolfgang Buchner, told reporters at the time that the German leader “did not feel threatened in any way”.
According to the dpa news agency, the accused was under the influence of drugs and was found only partially responsible for the crime.
The man apologized in the courtroom.
Mr Scholz's days as chancellor are coming to an end.
The German parliament plans to meet on May 6 to elect Friedrich Merz as the country's next leader if all parties in his proposed government approve the coalition agreement reached last week.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
