Thuringian AfD leader - Björn Höcke fined for banned Nazi slogan
Due to the use of an NS-slogan, the Thuringia AfD chairman Bjoern Hoecke has been sentenced to a fine. The Landgericht Halle found Hoecke guilty of displaying symbols of unconstitutional organizations at an AfD event in Gera in December and imposed a fine of a total of 16,900 Euro. According to the judgment, Hoecke uttered the banned Nazi slogan "Seig Heil" or encouraged his audience to do so.
The prosecution demanded a probation sentence and a fine for the Thuringia AfD leader. They requested eight months in prison, suspended. In addition, Hoecke was supposed to pay 10,000 Euro to a charitable organization such as the Buchenwald Memorial. State Prosecutor Benedikt Bernzen stated this in his plea at the Landgericht Halle. The defense and Hoecke himself demanded an acquittal.
Hoecke had spoken the first two words of the Nazi slogan "Seig Heil" at an AfD regular meeting in Gera, and the audience completed the phrase. He knew that the audience would say the third word, and he made a "quite inviting arm gesture," Bernzen said. The slogan was once used by the SA, the paramilitary combat organization of the Nazi Party NSDAP.
Hoecke already sentenced for the same slogan
Hoecke had already been sentenced to a fine of a total of 13,000 Euro on May 14 for the same slogan. He had used it at an election campaign event in Sachsen-Anhalt, Merseburg. The decision is not legally binding, as Hoecke filed an appeal.
For Hoecke, the second trial in Halle is not the last. The Landgericht Muhlhausen in Thuringia has allowed a charge against the politician for incitement to hatred. It concerns a Telegram post from Hoecke in 2022 about a violent incident in Ludwigshafen and the alleged behavior of many immigrants. No trial dates have been set yet.
More on this briefly here at stern.
The public prosecutor's office in Halle also pursued charges against Björn Höcke for the same NS-slogan incident in Sachsen-Anhalt, leading to a separate fine of 13,000 Euro, which Hoecke is currently appealing. Despite this ongoing case, the Landgericht Muhlhausen in Thuringia has authorized a charge against Höcke for incitement to hatred based on his 2022 Telegram post about immigrants.
