On Monday, 9 May, police in Latvia detained a total of 35 people and commenced a total of 49 administrative violation procedures, as reported by State Police.
Most of the violation procedures – 20 – were commenced in Riga region, followed by 19 in Latgale, and five each in Kurzeme and Zemgale. Most administrative violation procedures were commenced over the use of symbols glorifying military aggression and war cries, mostly ribbons of St. George. Police also found violations like coming to a public place in a state of inebriation, interfering with public order, disobeying the police, and committing acts of hooliganism.
As reported by the police, there were attempts to play the Russian anthem in the vicinity of the Victory Monument in Riga. In once case a person tried to play it on their phone and in another case the person tried to play it over a loudspeaker.
At 22:30 one person was detained for assaulting a police officer. At first he man was detained for resisting police, but he then attacked a municipal police officer by kicking and attempting to bite him. A criminal process was commenced.
By the end of the day the police had detained 35 persons. Seven of them were detained in Latgale region, one in Zemgale region and 27 in Riga. At the same time, dozens of people were issued warnings by officers of state and municipal police. By 22:30 law enforcers within the vicinity of Victory Park had issued warnings to at least 95 people.
In some cases police found people weather clothes with the word Russia written on them. Some residents wore jackets with medals attached, and in one case a child was dressed in a stylized to resemble Soviet army uniform. In another case a child was found wearing a Soviet army hat. Verbal conflicts were also found by the police – persons voiced their discontent with restrictions imposed by the government for the day. All conflicts were quickly resolved, however.
Riga municipal police detained eight UAV pilots within the vicinity of Victory Park. Some have been penalized. Among them were also foreign citizens – two Russian and one Canadian citizen. All relevant information was handed to the State Security Service.
There have also been case when police made decisions on application of fines for different administrative violations. In some cases police applied maximal penalties, as confirmed by State Police.
Read also: Latvian MEP: I find the monument in Victory Park unacceptable
On Monday, 9 May, there were also reports of fireworks in the evening despite the prohibition set in place for 9th and 10th May this year. According to LETA, fireworks were observed in Teika and Vecmilgravis. Residents on social media also reported use of fireworks in Liepaja.
State Police, together with municipal police and State Security Service, promise to work extra hard at night to ensure public order and security.
State Police also monitor and record activities using available equipment. All recorded footage will be checked and analysed.