Fact check: No, a man dressed as Santa in Germany was not arrested for refusing to wear a mask

McKenzie Sadeghi, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Police arrested a man dressed as Santa in Germany for refusing to wear a mask

For the first time in two years, Europe’s festive Christmas markets have opened to the public, including in Germany, where a group of people protested COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

On social media, some are sharing a video from the Dec. 13 demonstration in Stralsund, Germany, claiming it shows a man dressed as Santa Claus being arrested by authorities for refusing to wear a mask.

“German Santa arrested for not masking up,” reads the title of a Dec. 14 YouTube video that accumulated more than 14,000 views within a couple of days. The clip was uploaded by Russia Today, a state news site that has previously shared misinformation.

Other websites, such as the Euro Weekly News and DJHJ Media, published similar claims. On Twitter, a Dec. 13 video of the incident generated more than 900,000 views with the caption, “NEW – Police arrested ‘Santa Claus’ today at a Christmas market in Germany because he was not wearing a mask.”

But the man was actually arrested for failing to provide proper identification at the unregistered protest, not for refusing to wear a mask, according to a police statement.

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The websites and accounts that shared the video did not return requests for comment.

Stralsund police address rumor

In response to the claims, Stralsund police issued a statement on Dec. 14 saying the 47-year-old man was arrested because he did not provide details about his identification and pulled away as police attempted to escort him away.

He was not working with the Christmas market and was with 65 other individuals who were taking part in an unregistered protest, which is a criminal offense.

“According to the current status of the investigation, he refused to give his name and should therefore be accompanied to the patrol car to determine the identity,” police said.

The statement added that the man was released from custody once his identity was determined.

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Protests against COVID-19 policies have recently escalated, and some have turned violent, according to local news reports. The gatherings followed then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Dec. 2 announcement regarding restrictions for unvaccinated people in the country.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that police arrested a man dressed as Santa in Germany for refusing to wear a mask. Police said the man was detained at a protest because he failed to provide proper identification. All attendees at the demonstration were asked to provide identification because they were at an unregistered protest.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Post falsely claims Santa arrested for mask violation