process
AfD politician Höcke denies allegations: “I am actually completely innocent”
Björn Höcke is said to have knowingly used an SA slogan, “Everything for Germany,” in a speech
© Jens Schlueter/AFP/DPA
The public prosecutor’s office accuses Björn Höcke of knowingly using an SA slogan “Everything for Germany”. Now the AfD politician has denied the allegations against him. He is “completely innocent.”
With history books in hand and a penetrating look at the audience, AfD politician Björn Höcke protested his ignorance in front of the regional court in Halle. “I’m actually completely innocent,” he said on the second day of the trial on Tuesday about the accusation of knowingly using a banned Nazi saying. If he had known what the SA slogan “Everything for Germany” was about, he “certainly wouldn’t have used it,” said the 52-year-old. The public prosecutor sees it differently. Her accusation: The former history teacher knew what he was doing. He is therefore accused of using the symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.
The trial began last Thursday at the regional court in the Saale city. The starting point is a speech that Höcke gave in May 2021 in Merseburg (Saxony-Anhalt). Towards the end of the 20-minute speech he said “Everything for our homeland, everything for Saxony-Anhalt, everything for Germany.”
Björn Höcke describes himself as a “law-abiding citizen”
The Green Party politician Sebastian Striegel filed a complaint against Höcke. He referred to a report by the Bundestag’s scientific service, according to which using the phrase “Everything for Germany” in a speech at a meeting is punishable. On the second day of the main hearing, a video was played in court that also showed Höcke’s speech. In addition, before Höcke’s admission, the police officer who had recorded Striegel’s complaint was also questioned as a witness.
In the past, Thuringia’s AfD leader Höcke said he worked as a history teacher in Hesse for 15 years. The politician believes that the fact that he studied history does not mean that he must have known about the banned SA slogan. In his statement, he described himself as a “law-abiding citizen.” He also emphasized: “I have nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with National Socialism.” Höcke described the SA slogan as an “everyday saying”.
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Even before the trial opened, Höcke had defended his choice of words. He said he used the slogan in a free campaign speech and ultimately translated Donald Trump’s “America First” into German in a freely interpretable way. In Merseburg, shortly before his speech, the title of the AfD’s election program in Saxony-Anhalt caught his eye. He then spontaneously formulated the triad for the end of his speech.
After Höcke’s statement, the public prosecutor’s office questioned the politician – among other things, about several other proceedings against other AfD politicians. According to the public prosecutor’s office, they also used the banned saying, whether in speeches or on posters. Höcke said he didn’t know anything about it.
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The 52-year-old wants to run as his party’s top candidate in the state elections in Thuringia on September 1st. The AfD is classified and monitored by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia as definitely right-wing extremist.
The trial in Halle is the first of its kind against Höcke. In December last year, Höcke is said to have used the saying again during an appearance in Gera. However, this case is currently not part of the hearing in Halle. In the future, the politician, who was born in North Rhine-Westphalia, will also have to answer in court for further allegations. An indictment against him on charges of incitement to hatred was admitted at the Mühlhausen regional court – there are no dates for the trial there yet.
Due to the great public interest, the trial will not take place directly in the regional court in Halle, but in a larger courtroom in the justice center. Further trial dates are planned until mid-May. However, this could change as the negotiations progress.