AfD politician in court - Höcke sentenced for Nazi slogan
The Regional Court of Halle has again convicted Thuringia AfD chairman Bjoern Hoecke for using a prohibited Nazi slogan. Hoecke must pay a fine of 130 installments of 130 Euros each. The 52-year-old was found guilty of using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations. The presiding judge Jan Stengel stated that a prison sentence was not indicated for the court, but Hoecke's actions were not to be doubted. A revision against the judgment is possible.
The public prosecutor had accused Hoecke because in December 2023, at an AfD regular meeting in Thuringian Gera, he uttered the first two words of the Nazi slogan "Alles für Deutschland". The audience completed the phrase. In the view of the public prosecutor, the politician knew that the audience would complete the third word, and he made a "quite inviting gesture". The slogan was once used by the SA, the paramilitary combat organization of the Nazi Party NSDAP.
Judge Stengel stated that in the video of the speech in Gera, no rejecting attitude of Hoecke was discernible, "but rather mimicking approval". Hoecke wanted everyone to complete the phrase. He tested the limits of what was sayable.
The defense had demanded acquittal
The representative of the public prosecutor, Benedikt Bernzen, demanded eight months imprisonment for the defendant, suspended. In addition, Hoecke should pay 10,000 Euros to a charitable organization such as, for example, the Buchenwald Memorial. The defense and Hoecke himself demanded acquittal. The politician, who is running as the top candidate of his party in the Thuringian state election on September 1, 2023, said: "I am innocent and ask for acquittal."
Due to the same Nazi slogan, Hoecke was already sentenced to a fine of a total of 13,000 Euros by the Regional Court of Halle in May. He had used the phrase at a campaign event in Sachsen-Anhalt, Merseburg. The decision is legally binding, but Hoecke filed a revision.
- Björn Höcke's conviction in Saxony-Anhalt for using a Nazi slogan led to a similar case in Thuringia, where he was also charged.
- The Regional Court of Halle in Thuringia, like its counterpart in Sachsen-Anhalt, found Höcke guilty of using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.
- The public prosecutor's office in Thuringia accused Höcke of using the first two words of the Nazi slogan "Alles für Deutschland" at an AfD meeting in Gera, knowing the audience would complete it.
- Despite the public prosecutor's call for an eight-month suspended imprisonment and a fine, the judge in the Gera trial decided against imprisonment for Höcke.
- The AfD chairman's actions in Thuringia echoed his past offense in Saxony-Anhalt, leading to fines totaling 14,300 Euros, some of which are still under appeal.
- The Thuringia AfD party, headed by Höcke, faces scrutiny amidst these legal proceedings, raising concerns about extremism within the party in Germany.
