Brandenburg police confiscate poster with inscription “Björn Höcke is a Nazi”

The Brandenburg police confiscated a poster from the Die Linke party in Fürstenwalde/Spree with the inscription “Björn Höcke is a Nazi”. The poster is part of the “Stand up against racism” campaign, said the state manager of Die Linke Brandenburg.

The party sees the confiscation as an attempt to intimidate them. The approach is “highly questionable,” it says on the party’s homepage. A poster was shown that had already been used several times by participants in anti-AfD demonstrations - including in 2024 in downtown Hamburg.

The police said: There was a tip from a witness last Friday, whereupon officers drove to the party office and examined the poster in the window. As a result, there was initial suspicion of a crime. “For this reason, the officers seized the poster and filed a report on suspicion of using the symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.”

Björn Höcke is the state leader of the AfD in Thuringia, which is classified as definitely right-wing extremist. In the past, posters with the same inscription have repeatedly appeared during anti-AfD protests in the state. According to a court decision in 2019, Höcke was allowed to be called a fascist at a demonstration in Eisenach. This emerged from a decision by the Meiningen Administrative Court. However, it cannot be deduced from this that such designations are permitted at any time.

The case is now before the Frankfurt (Oder) public prosecutor's office for further legal assessment. The department for political criminal matters is taking care of this, said a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office.

This involves, among other things, the question of whether it is a protected expression of opinion or a punishable insult. The case is expected to be dealt with quickly, said the spokesman. However, the assessment could take a few days.