German far-right leader remains in hospital after reported incident

The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party will likely miss several campaign events after being hospitalized in unclear circumstances late Wednesday, just days ahead of two German state elections.

Police are conducting a prelimary investigation of a possible assault on AfD co-leader Timo Chrupalla, although there is no known suspect in the case, a police spokeswoman told dpa on Thursday. She declined to provide further details.

An AfD party spokesman said on Thursday that Chrupalla "is still in intensive care" but remains responsive at a hospital in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, where he was taken on Wednesday evening.

What exactly led to Chrupalla's hospitalization remained unclear.

Chrupalla had attended an election campaign event in Ingolstadt on Wednesday. Before the start of his speech, he had to be medically treated backstage and then was taken to hospital.

Police said they have received no indication of a physical attack on the AfD leader at Wednesday's rally. Police said he did not appear to be suffering from an obvious visible injury when he was taken to the hospital.

The AfD spokesman on Thursday mentioned "a puncture wound." He said tests are underway looking for possible substances in Chrupalla's body, and that the police are investigating.

The spokesman declined to provide more details when asked.

The AfD's national office on Wednesday had said Chrupalla was taken to the hospital after a "violent incident."

"In order to clarify the more detailed circumstances of this medical incident, further investigations have been taken over by the Ingolstadt Criminal Investigation Department," police said.

On Thursday, a Bavarian police spokesman said there remained no new information about the case and that police do not have any evidence of a syringe attack on Chrupalla, as had been reported in some media outlets close to the AfD.

Investigators called on witnesses to send photos and videos to the criminal investigation department to help clarify what happened.

The campaign rally in Ingolstadt came in the final days before Bavarian state elections on Sunday. Recent polls suggest the far-right party could make gains in Bavaria's state parliament, although other political parties have vowed not to work with the AfD or engage in coalition talks with the party, regardless of the results.

The AfD's Bavarian state chairman, Stephan Protschka, said Chrupalla will likely miss all remaining campaign events before Sunday's vote.