[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

Santa was just arrested for not masking up. When asked police responded: “We are just following orders”

From Buddhahaids' link

CLAIM: Santa was arrested at a Christmas market in Germany because he wasn’t wearing a mask.


THE FACTS: A man in a Santa costume was detained by police at a Christmas market in Stralsund, Germany, but police said it was because he refused to show identification at an unregistered protest against vaccine mandates, not because he wasn’t wearing a mask. A video circulating on Twitter shows a man dressed like Santa being escorted out of a Christmas market in Germany. The video is accompanied by claims on social media saying he refused to wear a mask. A statement issued by the Stralsund Police said that authorities responded late Monday to a report of an unregistered gathering at the ‘Old Market’ square in Stralsund, where about 65 people had gathered and “appeared to be voicing their opinion on the current coronavirus measures and a vaccine mandate.” Parliament last week approved compulsory vaccinations for health care professionals, but a general vaccine mandate isn’t in force. Officers asked participants to show their IDs, noting that the gathering wasn’t registered and therefore constituted a criminal offense for the organizer. The man dressed as Santa, who wasn’t working at the Christmas market, refused to provide his name to officers, according to the report, and pulled away as police escorted him out. The police statement said a complaint was made against the 47-year-old local man “on suspicion of resisting law enforcement officers,” among other allegations. He was released by police that evening after being identified. The incident is similar to another case elsewhere in Germany this month. A video claimed to show an elderly woman being detained by police because she didn’t have a vaccine passport. However, police said the woman, 80, was being briefly detained during an unauthorized protest because she did not provide German authorities with identification. Witnesses confirmed the police account. According to authorities, only IDs were checked on the scene, not vaccination passports.