Björn Höcke fined for NS slogan
Because he used a prohibited Nazi slogan during a campaign speech in Gera, Bjoern Hoecke has been sentenced to a fine. The Thuringian AfD leader insisted on his innocence. This is not the first such judgment against the right-wing populist.
Bjoern Hoecke, the Thuringian AfD chairman, has been sentenced to a fine again due to the use of a Nazi slogan during an AfD event in December in the Thuringian city of Gera. The Regional Court of Halle an der Saale found Hoecke guilty of using symbols of unconstitutional organizations and imposed a fine of a total of 16,900 Euro.
According to the judgment, Hoecke used the banned Nazi slogan of the SA "Alles für Deutschland" or encouraged his audience to do so during an AfD event. In a similar case, the Regional Court of Halle had already sentenced the 52-year-old to a fine of 13,000 Euro in May because he had used the same SA slogan during an AfD campaign event in Merseburg. The judgment is not yet final.
The prosecution had demanded a suspended sentence of eight months in prison for Hoecke in their closing argument before the judgment. His defense attorney also spoke in favor of disqualifying Hoecke from holding public offices for a period of two years. Hoecke's defense, however, called for an acquittal in their closing statement.
Hoecke is the state and faction leader of the AfD in Thuringia and is running as the party's top candidate in the state election on September 1. The Thuringian Constitutional Protection Agency classifies the state branch as reliably extremist in its federal state. In the polls for the state election, the AfD has been leading for months, but its advantage has recently shrunk slightly.
- Despite the repeated use of a prohibited Nazi slogan, including during an AfD campaign event in Merseburg, which resulted in a previous fine, Björn Höcke, the chairman of the Thuringian AfD, was only fined again by the Regional Court of Halle an der Saale for employing the same slogan during an AfD event in Gera.
- The AfD, a right-wing populist party, has been facing criticism for its association with National Socialism, as evidenced by the repeated use of Nazi symbols and slogans by its Thuringian chairman, Björn Höcke.
- The ongoing trials and fines against Björn Höcke for his use of Nazi slogans in political processes have not deterred him from maintaining his position as the state and faction leader of the AfD in Thuringia and seeking re-election as the party's top candidate in the upcoming state election.
