The trial against AfD right winger Björn Höcke has begun in Halle. The accusation is that he knowingly used an SA slogan.
His defense lawyers fail with a number of applications. The next day of the hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday. The penalty ranges from a fine to three years in prison. The presumption of innocence applies until a possible conviction. The 52-year-old is said to have used the SA slogan in a speech in the state election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt in 2021. He claimed in a television program that he did not know that the slogan was an SA slogan. "It's a common saying," he had said in a TV interview before the trial. The trial is expected to last until the end of the year. The public prosecutor's office accused him of knowing about the origin of the SA slogans "Everything for Germany" and "Everything For Germany." The trial against Thuringia's AfD leader is the first court case against him.