For incitement of the people

AfD state leader Höcke has to go to court again

Thuringia's AfD state party and parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke has been charged with incitement of the people.(Bild: AFP)

Thuringia's AfD state party and parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke has to stand trial in another case. The politician is accused of incitement of the people following a post in 2022. At the time, he referred to an act of violence in Ludwigshafen.

"The perpetrator is probably mentally ill and suffers from the widespread widespread disease among immigrants that makes those affected shout 'Allahu Akbar' and distorts their perception to such an extent that they see the 'infidel' hosts as life unworthy of life," he wrote on Telegram.

The 51-year-old is now facing charges of incitement of the people at Mühlhausen district court, but a date for the trial has not yet been set.

Björn Höcke(Bild: AFP)

Forbidden SA slogan used in speech
This is the second court hearing Höcke has had to face. He was charged with using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations at the regional court in Halle (see video above). In a speech in Merseburg in 2021, the AfD politician allegedly used a banned slogan of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the Nazi Party's fighting organization. The former history teacher previously denied that this was relevant under criminal law.

A new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia on September 1, and Höcke is expected to run again as the AfD's top candidate. The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the party as right-wing extremist almost three years ago and is monitoring it.