A German court has fined a 50-year-old man €4,500 and banned him from driving for two and a half years after he infiltrated Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s security convoy and embraced him on an airport runway in May 2023.
The defendant, whose name was not disclosed, admitted to consuming cocaine and staying awake for two days before driving onto a public highway and inadvertently joining the chancellor’s motorcade. He followed the convoy onto the tarmac at Frankfurt Airport, where he exited his vehicle, shook Scholz’s hand, and hugged him before being detained by police.
Through his lawyer, the man claimed he had mimicked others in the chancellor’s entourage, believing the gesture was part of a farewell. He expressed remorse in court, calling the episode a “bittersweet experience,” and was found only partially responsible for the offenses.
The incident occurred as Scholz was departing after attending the European Central Bank’s 25th-anniversary celebration. Although the chancellor’s spokesperson, Wolfgang Büchner, stated Scholz felt “unthreatened,” the breach prompted scrutiny of security protocols.
At the time, the Federal Criminal Police Office confirmed the individual was arrested without resistance, adding, “No one was hurt.”
The ruling comes as Scholz prepares to leave office following a snap election in February 2025, in which his Social Democratic Party (SPD) lost to Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The Bundestag is expected to formally elect Merz as chancellor on May 6, pending coalition approval.
Merz has pledged to prioritize European unity and security amid ongoing challenges, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the return of Donald Trump to U.S. politics.
Scholz’s spokesperson reiterated that the chancellor never felt endangered during the airport incident, though it reignited debates over the robustness of his security detail.