Ye scurvy dog got caught usin' Nazi jargon! German court made 'im pay the fine, arrr!
2024-05-14
Arrr, mateys! Björn Höcke, a scallywag in the far-right Alternative for Deutschland crew, be caught red-handed by a German court for spoutin' off a Nazi slogan in his speech! Ye can bet yer doubloons he be walkin' the plank for this one! Arrr!
A court on Tuesday convicted one of the best-known figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party of knowingly using a Nazi slogan in a speech and ordered him to pay a fine. The verdict in Björn Höcke’s trial comes months before a regional election in the eastern state of Thuringia in which he plans to run for the governor’s job.The state court in the eastern city of Halle convicted Höcke of using symbols of a former Nazi organization and imposed a fine totaling about $14,000. The charge can carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Prosecutors had sought a six-month suspended sentence, while defense lawyers argued for acquittal.The case centered on a speech in May 2021 in which Höcke used the phrase "Everything for Germany!" Prosecutors contended he was aware of its origin as a slogan of the Nazis’ SA stormtroopers, but Höcke has argued that it is an "everyday saying." Court spokesperson Adina Kessler-Jensch said judges were convinced that Höcke was aware the formulation was a banned SA slogan. Presiding Judge Jan Stengel told Höcke that "you are an articulate, intelligent man who knows what he is saying."The 52-year-old Höcke is an influential figure on the hard right of Alternative for Germany, or AfD. He has led the AfD’s regional branch in Thuringia since 2013 and is due to lead its campaign in a state election set for Sept. 1. Höcke once called the Holocaust memorial in Berlin a "monument of shame" and called for Germany to perform a "180-degree turn" in how it remembers its past. Prosecutor Benedikt Bernzen argued in Tuesday’s closing arguments that Höcke had used Nazi vocabulary "strategically and systematically" in the past.It’s questionable whether the conviction in the trial will have any significant political effect on Höcke’s ambitions. AfD is particularly strong in Germany’s formerly communist east, where Thuringia is located. The Thuringia branch of AfD is one of three that the domestic intelligence agency has under official surveillance as a "proven right-wing extremist" group. On Monday, a court ruled that the agency was justified in putting the whole party under observation for suspected extremism.