The Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies Björn Höcke as a right-wing extremist.
AfD politician Björn Höcke has to answer to the Halle regional court for allegedly using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations. The decision was made by the Higher Regional Court in Naumburg, Germany, as announced on Thursday. According to the office of the Thuringian AfD leader, this is the first time that investigations have led to a criminal case against him. It was initially unclear when the process would begin.
Höcke is accused of using a banned slogan of the so-called Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary combat organization of the NSDAP, in a speech in Merseburg (Saalekreis), Anhalt, on May 29, 2021. Höcke is said to have known the last part of the formula “Everything for our homeland, everything for Saxony-Anhalt, everything for Germany” was a prohibited statement, according to the prosecution. The Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies Höcke as a right-wing extremist.
With its decision for a trial before the great criminal chamber of Halle, the Naumburg court responds to a complaint from the Halle Public Prosecutor’s Office. This was preceded by a decision of the Halle Regional Court, according to which the main proceedings were to be conducted at the Merseburg District Court. The decision of the Naumburg Higher Regional Court is unappealable. (APA)