The Right Seeks to Capitalize on Berlin Pride Attack — Even as It Poses Its Own Existential Threat to Queer Lives

The Right Seeks to Capitalize on Berlin Pride Attack — Even as It Poses Its Own Existential Threat to Queer Lives The Brandenburg Gate, illuminated in rainbow colors, after a car plowed into a crowd on the outskirts of the Christopher Day Parade pride event in Berlin on July 26, 2026. Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa via Getty Images On Saturday night, a man drove a van into a crowd near Berlin’s Pride Festival, before getting out and stabbing several people, leaving one woman dead and dozens injured. The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German national and reported supporter of the Islamic State group, was shot (theguardian.com) dead by police on Sunday following a daylong manhunt. “We do not want this deed to be used for political ends,” said the organizers of the festival (x.com), also known as Christopher Street Day, in a statement on Sunday before the attacker had even been located. “We don’t want any groups to be placed under suspicion for this. People are trying to divide our society and set some people against others. We will not allow this.” Amid the shock and grief, the organizers saw the immediate need to stop malign political forces using the horrific attack and the queer community’s suffering to fuel Germany’s already fervent (theintercept.com › palestinians europe speech crackdown) anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-immigrant (theintercept.com › germany gaza protesters deport) sentiment. The far-right Alternative for Germany Party, or AfD, moved to weaponize the Berlin attack within hours. They had reason for concern. The far-right Alternative for Germany Party, or AfD — which decries (theguardian.com) trans people as a “cult,” opposes (dw.com › a 38002368) marriage equality and gay adoption, defines a family as only “father, mother and children,” and condemns so-called “gender ideology” — had moved to weaponize the attack within hours. “The AfD has been warning for years: Islamism is and remains the greatest security threat to our country,” said (afdbundestag.de) AfD member of parliament Martin Hess in a statement. He remarked that “we also urgently need a genuine shift in migration policy” — despite the fact that Saturday’s suspect was born and raised in Germany. The AfD, which is currently the most popular German party according to recent polls (instagram.com › DaXqqwKlSGm), boasts numerous state-level branches classified (dw.com › a 77840272) as extremist organizations by Germany’s intelligence agencies. Alliance for Bigotry The party is using a familiar playbook. In 2016, the day after the deadly Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump called (time.com › donald trump orlando shooting muslim ban) for a total ban on immigration from Muslim countries. His two presidencies have since been dedicated to destroying both trans lives and Muslim lives with vigor. Trump has sought to leverage attacks abroad, including in Germany, to galvanize his anti-Muslim base. The president was quick (pbs.org) to condemn the 2016 massacre at a Berlin Christmas market to double down, once again, on his Muslim ban plan. Related Germany Turns to U.S. Playbook: Deportations Target Gaza War Protesters (theintercept.com › germany gaza protesters depor