Driver who allegedly hit German party HQ angry over census

BERLIN (AP) — Prosecutors say a man alleged to have driven a car into the headquarters of one of Germany's governing parties was angry about an annual micro census.

The 58-year-old crashed into the entrance of the Social Democratic Party's headquarters in Berlin on Dec. 24. German authorities said he earlier left a bag with gas canisters and grill lighters outside the headquarters of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union.

News agency dpa reports that prosecutors said the man had been chosen for Germany's annual micro census. He refused to participate and was fined.

Prosecutors' spokesman Martin Steltner said Thursday the suspect had sought to "send a signal against the parties responsible for the census legislation.