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       lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
       
       
       ARTICLE VIEW: 
       
       /
       
       Far-right German politician on trial accused of using banned Nazi
       slogans
       
       By Lindsay Isaac, CNN
       
       Updated: 
       
       8:09 AM EDT, Thu April 18, 2024
       
       Source: CNN
       
       A far-right German politician has gone on trial accused of using banned
       Nazi slogans at two rallies dating back to 2021.
       
       Björn Höcke, leader of the regional branch of (AfD) in the eastern
       state of Thuringia, is accused of ending a May 2021 election event in
       Merseburg by shouting the Socialist Nationalist slogan, “Everything
       for our homeland, everything for Saxony-Anhalt, everything for
       Germany,” according to the regional court of Halle.
       
       Prosecutors allege that although he was aware the slogan is banned in
       Germany, and despite already facing criminal charges related to the
       first instance, Höcke went on to use it a second time at an event in
       December 2023. In that incident he allegedly shouted to the crowd:
       “Everything for” and incited the audience to reply “Germany.”
       
       Prosecutors also claim Höcke was aware of the phrase’s origins as
       the slogan for the Nazi paramilitary wing.
       
       Höcke, a former history teacher, intends to run as the lead candidate
       for the AfD in the upcoming state elections in Thuringia in September.
       
       Ahead of his trial he criticized Germany for “persecuting political
       opponents and suppressing free speech.” On social media platform X,
       Höcke said he was being charged for “the crime of using an alleged
       quote in which I expressed my patriotism ‘incorrectly.’”
       Höcke’s post was amplified by , the owner of X, who replied: “What
       did you say?”
       
       Hans-Christoph Berndt, the head of the AfD in the Brandenburg region,
       has been branded a right-wing extremist by German intelligence
       services, which have the party under surveillance.
       
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