Two city councillors for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party were attacked by masked assailants outside a café in the city centre of Karlsruhe in the south-west of the country on Saturday.
Three people, including the two councillors, were slightly injured, a police spokesman in Karlsruhe told dpa late Saturday.
The three were treated at the scene. The police detained five people for the time being and released them after establishing their personal details. Other suspected perpetrators fled the scene.
The AfD said the city councillors were attacked with a baseball bat. The police said that a stick was found at the scene.
Whether a baseball bat was also used could neither be confirmed nor denied, the police spokesman said.
According to the AfD in the Karlsruhe local council, the attack came from the radical left-wing scene. Around 10 people were said to be involved.
The police were initially unable to provide any details.
"It was only thanks to the courageous intervention of security personnel sitting at the next table that worse could be prevented," the local AfD representation in the Karlsruhe local council said in a statement.