Far-right German politician faces trial for alleged use of banned Nazi slogans
A trial commences for a far-right German politician who is accused of utilizing prohibited Nazi slogans during two rallies in 2021.
A German far-right politician, Björn Höcke, is currently on trial for allegedly using banned Nazi slogans at two rallies in 2021. Specifically, he is accused of ending a May 2021 election event in Merseburg by shouting the Socialist Nationalist slogan, “Everything for our homeland, everything for Saxony-Anhalt, everything for Germany,” according to the regional court of Halle.
Prosecutors claim that even though he knew the slogan is illegal in Germany, Höcke still used it a second time at an AfD event in December 2023. Despite already facing charges for using it before, he allegedly shouted to the crowd: "Everything for" and encouraged the audience to respond with "Germany."
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Prosecutors also argue that Höcke knew the phrase was originally used as the slogan for the Nazi paramilitary group.
Höcke, who used to be a history teacher, plans to be the main candidate for the AfD in the upcoming state elections in Thuringia in September.
Ahead of his trial, Höcke criticized Germany for persecuting political opponents and suppressing free speech. On social media platform X, he mentioned being charged for expressing his patriotism 'incorrectly' in an alleged quote. Elon Musk, the owner of X, further amplified the post by asking, "What did you say?"
Hans-Christoph Berndt, the head of the AfD in the Brandenburg region, has been labeled a right-wing extremist by German intelligence services, who are currently monitoring the party.
CNN’s Chris Stern contributed reporting to this story.
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