After a tirade with nasty insults by Prime Minister Markus Söder and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, a man from Augsburg was sentenced to a fine of 16,500 euros. On Monday, the district court of Augsburg also included an earlier conviction for threats and insults in the sentence. The penalty was therefore relatively high at 300 daily rates of 55 euros.
The 34-year-old immediately admitted the insults to the members of the government and apologized. “It’s not possible,” he said in court. He justified his verbal outbursts with his impulsiveness and with wanting to express his displeasure.
Last December, out of anger about the Corona policy, he sent an e-mail directly to a service e-mail address of the state government and denigrated the two CSU politicians by name. He described Söder and Herrmann as “sons of bitches”, “complete idiots” and “mendacious, corrupt, power-hungry, characterless and dishonorable creatures”. Both are “professional criminals” who should go to prison.
Specifically, the mechatronics engineer was concerned with a possible corona vaccination requirement for the population. He will not be vaccinated “with the dirt” and will not pay a fine for it. The e-mail said he would not let himself be dictated to. At the end of 2021, Söder advocated a general obligation to vaccinate.
After the email, Interior Minister Herrmann filed a complaint for insult. Politicians at all levels, from local to federal, have been reporting increasing insults and threats for years. The prosecutor said in the Augsburg trial that the impulsive nature of the defendant was probably a problem for him. Despite the criminal record and despite the “violent expletives”, a fine is just about justifiable. “This is really the last warning shot,” said the prosecutor. The 34-year-old, who defended himself without a lawyer, accepted the verdict in the courtroom.