- Politicians from the AfD party wielding assault rifles - complex roles outlined
After viewing a brief martial video on TikTok, shared by Hessian AfD state parliamentarian Maximilian Mügger, his party and faction leadership announced his resignation from various roles. Mügger stepped down from the Interior Committee of the state parliament, as reported by Robert Lambrou and Andreas Lichert to the German Press Agency. He also resigned as deputy state chairman of the youth organization Young Alternatives (JA). Lambrou and Lichert hold positions as chairman and deputy of the AfD state parliamentary faction respectively. They commented after a state executive meeting and a faction gathering.
According to the Hessian AfD leadership, Mügger is no longer the chairman of the AfD district association Offenbach-Land and the local association in Neu-Isenburg. They mentioned that further consequences would be discussed at the beginning of the next week by the state executive and the AfD faction. Lambrou and Lichert expressed their distancing from the inappropriate video.
Mügger continues to form part of the AfD opposition in the Hessian state parliament in Wiesbaden, as per the faction. However, the 31-year-old was unavailable for a statement.
The video in question, which was obtained by the dpa, shows Mügger handling an assault rifle and advocating for "free weapons for free citizens!" He shoots three rounds into the air, and using the knife attack in Solingen with three deaths as an example, states, "One is no longer safe in German cities and must fear being stabbed or otherwise murdered at a festival or on the way home."
An AfD spokesperson revealed that Mügger explained a few days ago that the video had accidentally been published on TikTok for a few minutes and was intended for private use. He went on to explain that the video was shot at an official shooting range in Poland and was under the supervision of a range officer. The rental weapon remained subject to all Polish legal regulations, as Mügger, an aspiring sports shooter, stated.
The video sparked significant controversy. Hessian Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) stated, "Clearly, armed violence in migration policy is being legitimized here. And that's terrible." He emphasized, "Such actions carry a high risk of actually inciting violence."
Lambrou recently explained, "Anyone who speaks about political content with a weapon in their hand, which they then fire, crosses a line. Such a political approach is one that I firmly reject." According to Hessian Radio (hr), Lambrou had previously also conveyed that Mügger often brings important topics to the forefront. His comments on a different sense of security in Poland and Germany, for instance, represent the view of numerous federal citizens. He himself would never have published such a video, Lambrou further informed hr.
The resignations followed after Maximilian Mügger's promotion of extremist views in the controversial martial video, where he advocated for free weapons and expressed fears of violence in German cities. Lambrou and Lichert, leaders of the AfD state parliamentary faction, publicly distanced themselves from these extremist sentiments.
