AfD politician Höcke charged with using Nazi slogan
June 5, 2023
Prosecutors in the eastern German city of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, announced charges against Björn Höcke on Monday.
The firebrand leader of the Thuringia state chapter of the far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is accused of intentionally using a Nazi slogan at a May 2021 campaign event.
What did he say?
Prosecutors said they had "reasonable suspicion" to charge Höcke with knowingly using the phrase "Alles für Deutschland!" (Everything for Germany) — a slogan used by Nazi Stormtroopers — while speaking at a public event in the city of Merseburg in Saxony-Anhalt.
Prosecutors moved to charge Höcke with using symbols linked to unconstitutional organizations on May 16, and say he disputes the criminality of any such slogan. Prosecutors found the claim improbable since he was a history teacher before entering politics. The use of Nazi symbols is strictly forbidden in Germany.
Like other AfD politicians, Höcke has made a habit of making highly provocative statements, many evoking images of Germany's Nazi past as well as others that seek to relativize historic crimes committed by German fascists.
Prosecutors noted that despite being confident they have sufficient evidence for a conviction, every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Thuringia's state parliament revoked Höcke's right to immunity in November 2021, and the body's judicial committee paved the way for charges against him this April. He was previously stripped of his immunity in 2020 after a criminal complaint was filed against him for incitement.
Thuringia's state chapter of the AfD, which Höcke leads, was classified as a right-wing extremist organization by the state's intelligence services in March 2021.
js/rc (AFP, dpa)