In connection with investigations into a banned Nazi statement, the Thuringian state parliament’s justice committee has again lifted the immunity of AfD politician Björn Höcke. This was confirmed by several sources in the state parliament on Saturday. Accordingly, the committee approved such a step on Friday.
Höcke himself wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday that it was the eighth time that his immunity had been lifted. Immunity protects MPs from prosecution. If a public prosecutor wants to investigate her, the Justice Committee must approve the investigation. MDR Thuringia first reported online about the current decision.
The background is therefore investigations by the Gera public prosecutor’s office. The Thuringian AfD state and faction chairman is said to have used the slogan “Everything for Germany” at a meeting in Gera in December, the banned slogan of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary fighting organization of the NSDAP.
Because he is said to have used the saying in a speech in Merseburg in Saxony-Anhalt at the end of May 2021, the Halle public prosecutor’s office brought charges. Immunity was also lifted for these investigations at the time. In this case, Höcke will have to answer before the regional court in Halle from mid-April for the alleged use of license plates of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations. The investigation into the December incident in Gera should now be handed over to the Halle public prosecutor’s office. They are intended to be linked to the proceedings that have already been initiated because of the use of the same slogan.
An indictment was also admitted against Höcke at the regional court in Mühlhausen (Thuringia) on charges of incitement to hatred. The background is a post by the former history teacher on Telegram.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia classifies Höcke as a right-wing extremist. In Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, the AfD is considered right-wing extremist. Höcke is expected to run as the top candidate for the AfD in the Thuringian state elections on September 1st.
