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Resisting state authority under § 269 StGB

Resisting state authority under § 269 StGB: obstructing an official act by force or threat, lawfulness as a precondition and the distinction from the physical attack under § 270.

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24 June 2026 · Mag. Christopher Angerer, Rechtsanwalt

A police check gets out of control, a scuffle breaks out during an arrest, or the situation escalates at a demonstration. The accusation of resisting state authority quickly arises. For the accused, the question is from when their conduct is punishable and what role the lawfulness of the police intervention plays.

This post explains, from a legal perspective, what resisting state authority under § 269 StGB requires, why the lawfulness of the official act is a precondition of the offence, what penalty applies and how resistance is distinguished from the physical attack on an official under § 270 StGB. This is general information, not advice on an individual case.

How did the situation arise?

Four situations, the right next step for each.

Whether conduct is punishable as resisting state authority depends on the act committed and on the lawfulness of the official act. Choose your situation and you will receive the key points and the next concrete step.

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01 Question 1

How did the situation arise?

Whether conduct is punishable as resisting state authority depends on the act committed and on the lawfulness of the official act. Choose your situation and you will receive the key points and the next concrete step.

All paths at a glance

Overview of all answers.

01

Escalation during an official act: clarify the precise sequence of events before questioning.

Resisting state authority under § 269 StGB requires that an authority or an official is obstructed in an official act, or coerced into one, by force or by a dangerous threat. Merely passive conduct or verbal protest does not readily fulfil the offence. From a legal perspective, the precise sequence of events is decisive.

Do not make a statement on the matter before you have obtained access to the file and sought advice. Record what actually happened, what words were spoken and whether there are witnesses or recordings.

In depth: the act of resistance →
02

Physical contact: distinguish resistance under § 269 and a physical attack under § 270.

Not every physical contact with an official is resisting state authority. § 269 StGB covers obstructing an official act by force. The physical attack on an official under § 270 StGB, by contrast, concerns an attack during an official act, regardless of whether it obstructs the act.

From a legal perspective, the classification matters because the offence and the penalty differ. It often has to be examined precisely whether there was force in the legal sense at all and against which act it was directed.

In depth: physical attack § 270 →
03

Doubts about lawfulness: the official act is a precondition of the offence.

The lawfulness of the official act is a central point. Where the authority or the official was not entitled by the nature of the act to carry it out, or where the intervention breached criminal-law provisions, resistance is exempt from punishment. It is therefore decisive whether the official act was permissible at all.

From a legal perspective, it should be examined early what the intervention was based on and whether the officers were competent and authorised to do so. In an individual case this question often decides whether the conduct is punishable.

In depth: lawfulness of the official act →
04

Incident during an action: examine the individual contribution and the concept of force precisely.

In incidents in a crowd or at a demonstration, it often has to be clarified what concrete contribution an individual person made. Not every type of conduct in a dynamic situation is resisting state authority. Force or a dangerous threat directed precisely against an official act is required.

From a legal perspective, the precise attribution of one’s own conduct is decisive. Secure everything that documents the sequence of events and make no statement on the matter before you have obtained access to the file.

In depth: force and dangerous threat →

The elements of resistance

Under § 269 StGB, anyone who, by force or by a dangerous threat, obstructs an authority or an official in an official act or coerces them into an official act is liable to prosecution.

Obstructing or coercing. The act consists in preventing or forcing a concrete official act by force or a dangerous threat. An official act is, for example, an arrest, an identity check, a search or a detention.

Not merely passive conduct. Anyone who merely refuses to cooperate, protests loudly or behaves passively does not yet commit punishable resistance. The use of force or a dangerous threat is required.

Intent. The offender must at least seriously consider it possible and accept that the means precisely obstructs or forces the official act.

Force and dangerous threat

Resistance is punishable only where it is committed by force or by a dangerous threat.

Force. This means the use of not entirely negligible physical strength. It may be tearing oneself free with effort, pushing away an official or forcibly preventing a measure. Merely going limp or simply stiffening the body is not, according to case law, always treated as force.

Dangerous threat. Also covered is the threat of an injury to body, liberty, honour, property or other protected legal interests that is capable of instilling well-founded concern.

From a legal perspective, it often has to be examined precisely whether the threshold of force in the legal sense was reached at all.

The lawfulness of the official act

A central point of the offence of resistance is the lawfulness of the official act.

Impunity for an impermissible official act. Under § 269 para 4 StGB, the offender is not to be punished where the authority or the official was not entitled by the nature of the act to carry it out, or where the official, as a body, breached criminal-law provisions.

The yardstick of general competence. What is examined above all is whether the intervening bodies were competent at all for an official act of this kind. It does not depend on every individual point of detail of lawfulness, but on the fundamental authority to intervene.

From a legal perspective, this question is often the decisive starting point, because where an official act is impermissible by its nature, the resistance remains exempt from punishment.

Physical attack on an official under § 270 StGB

To be distinguished from resistance is the physical attack on an official under § 270 StGB.

Attack during an official act. § 270 StGB covers a physical attack on an official during an official act. Unlike resistance, it does not depend on whether an official act is to be obstructed.

Penalty. The physical attack on an official carries up to two years’ imprisonment.

Lawfulness counts here too. The rule on impunity where an official act is impermissible by its nature applies by analogy to the physical attack as well.

The penalty for resistance

The penalty for resistance depends on the seriousness of the act.

Basic offence. Resisting state authority under § 269 para 1 StGB carries up to three years’ imprisonment.

Aggravation. Where the resistance is committed under the aggravating conditions of an aggravated coercion within the meaning of § 106 StGB, the sentencing range is six months to five years.

From a legal perspective, the precise classification of the act matters, because the applicable sentencing range depends on it.

The most common mistakes in a resistance accusation. Assuming that any defiance of the police is punishable. Overlooking that the lawfulness of the official act is a precondition of the offence. As the accused, making a statement on the matter without access to the file. In all cases: record the precise course of events and the basis of the intervention early and secure any recordings.

Frequently asked questions

What you need to know about resisting state authority.

Is every refusal towards the police punishable? +

No. Resisting state authority under § 269 StGB requires force or a dangerous threat by which an official act is obstructed or forced. Merely passive conduct, a refusal to cooperate or loud protest do not in themselves fulfil the offence.

What happens if the official act was unlawful? +

Under § 269 para 4 StGB, resistance is exempt from punishment where the authority or the official was not entitled by the nature of the act to carry it out, or where the official, as a body, breached criminal-law provisions. The lawfulness of the official act is therefore a central point of examination.

What penalty applies to resistance? +

Resisting state authority under § 269 para 1 StGB carries up to three years’ imprisonment. Where it is committed under the conditions of an aggravated coercion, the sentencing range is six months to five years.

How does the physical attack under § 270 differ? +

The physical attack on an official under § 270 StGB concerns an attack during an official act, without any official act having to be obstructed. It carries up to two years’ imprisonment. Here too, impunity applies by analogy where the official act is impermissible by its nature.

What should I do first as the accused? +

Do not make any statement on the matter before you have sought legal advice and obtained access to the file. Record the precise course of events and secure witnesses and any video recordings. The question of the lawfulness of the official act in particular can decide whether the conduct is punishable.

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resisting-state-authoritysection-269physical-attackofficial-actlawfulnessforce

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