Armed gang members, many wearing masks and bulletproof vests, attempted to disrupt the trial of two men leading to the mass arrest by police of 140 people outside the courthouse in Glostrup yesterday.
The gathered crowd threw objects at police, who used batons and pepper spray to take control.
Three knives, a dart, a screwdriver, two hammers, two crowbars and six wooden clubs were discovered discarded by the gang members. A search of nearby cars also turned up bulletproof vests and clubs.
“We were well prepared for the situation,” Michael Kristiansen, of the Vestegn Police, wrote in a press release. “We will not accept this sort of destructive behaviour at trials.”
All but five were released later in the day, with four now facing charges of assaulting a police officer and one for threatening the life of an officer.
Before they were arrested, gang members attempted to make their way into the courtroom where two men are accused of shooting and attempting to murder two other men using an illegal 9mm weapon in Ballerup on February 14.
According to Politiken newspaper, the shooting was related to a gang conflict between groups from the Værebroparken housing estate in Bagsværd, and Nivå and Kokkedal in northern Zealand.
The gang from Værebroparken are thought to be sympathisers of the biker gang the Hells Angels, Politiken reports.
Later in the evening police were called to Værebroparken after reports of youths causing trouble and setting fire to trash bins.
“Several reports have been made from the area where people have been gathering and making a lot of noise,” vice inspector Henrik frandsen told Jyllands-Posten newspaper, adding that when police arrived at around 9pm the youths had prepared piles of material to throw at their vehicles.
“They are people from the area who earlier on Tuesday were arrested then released,” Frandsen said. “It is probably a show of frustration.”
No-one was arrested after the evening’s disturbances.
This story was updated on 12:17 8/3/2012 after the Copenhagen Post was made aware that the two men on trial have no apparent connection to a biker gang, as was initially reported
