Legal proceedings against Björn Höcke, leader of the Thuringian branch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), have concluded with final verdicts following the rejection of his appeals by the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof). The court formally dismissed Höcke’s revisions on August 20th in two separate cases (Az.: 3 StR 484/24 and 3 StR 519/24), confirming the rulings of the Halle (Saale) Regional Court.
In the initial case, Mr. Höcke was found guilty of utilizing a banned symbol associated with a past political organization. The Halle Regional Court determined that in 2021, during a Bundestag election rally in Merseburg, he employed the slogan “Alles für Deutschland” (“Everything for Germany”). The court ruled that Mr. Höcke was aware of the phrase’s origin as a rallying cry used by the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party and acknowledged that its public use is prohibited. He previously denied possessing this knowledge during court proceedings.
The second legal action stemmed from a public AfD event in Gera in 2023 where Mr. Höcke was accused of again alluding to the same slogan and encouraging the audience to complete it.
The Federal Court of Justice’s decision affirms the previous convictions, which resulted in fines totaling nearly €30,000 levied against the AfD leader by the Halle Regional Court – specifically, €100 and €130 daily fines in each of the two trials respectively. The court found no legal errors in the regional court’s rulings and upheld the final verdicts.
