{"id":323136,"date":"2026-02-15T08:46:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T08:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=323136"},"modified":"2026-02-17T07:13:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T07:13:42","slug":"german-courts-could-issue-speaking-ban-against-major-afd-politician-in-latest-blow-to-free-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=323136","title":{"rendered":"German courts could issue \u2018speaking ban\u2019 against major AfD politician in latest blow to free speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Remix News \u2013 Feb 12, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>German courts are currently deliberating whether leading Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke could be hit with a \u201cspeaking ban\u201d during a campaign event in the city of Lindenberg im Allg\u00e4u.<\/p>\n<p>The move could signal a worsening of free speech in Germany, with H\u00f6cke using the legal proceedings to make the case that his fundamental rights are being violated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemocrats of all countries, look to Germany! Right now, German courts are seriously deliberating whether I should be issued a speaking ban for political events! I am entitled to the fundamental right to exercise freedom of speech. I am a member of a constitutional body. I am the opposition leader of a German parliament,\u201d wrote H\u00f6cke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then there is also the party privilege: So in the future, a supposedly neutral administration should be allowed to decide with whom a party may conduct election campaigning and with whom not? That is absurd! What we are witnessing here is yet another attack on parliamentary democracy in Germany,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"de\">Demokraten aller L\u00e4nder schaut auf Deutschland!<br \/>\nZurzeit verhandeln deutsche Gerichte ernsthaft dar\u00fcber, ob ich ein Redeverbot f\u00fcr politische Veranstaltungen erhalte! Mir steht das Grundrecht auf Aus\u00fcbung der Meinungsfreiheit zu. Ich bin Mitglied eines Verfassungsorgans. Ich bin\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/19MBqc8Tjr\">https:\/\/t.co\/19MBqc8Tjr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke (@BjoernHoecke) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BjoernHoecke\/status\/2021686018789744995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The move to ban H\u00f6cke from speaking comes after the city of Lindenberg im Allg\u00e4u lost its initial effort to ban the campaign event entirely. Now, the city is shifting its strategy to specifically bar Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke from the stage.<\/p>\n<p>The city originally attempted to cancel the AfD\u2019s rental of the town hall entirely. However, the Augsburg Administrative Court blocked this move during urgent proceedings, declaring the total revocation of the hall inadmissible. Crucially, the judges noted that\u00a0\u201cas a milder priority measure, a ban on speaking for Mr. H\u00f6cke\u201d\u00a0was a legally viable alternative.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rmx.news\/article\/it-would-be-a-safe-path-to-a-civil-war-majority-of-germans-against-an-afd-ban\/\">\u2018It would be a safe path to a civil war\u2019 \u2013 Majority of Germans against an AfD ban <\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to a city spokesperson, Lindenberg is now pursuing this option, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.br.de\/nachrichten\/bayern\/kommunen-wollen-redeverbot-fuer-afd-politiker-hoecke,VAwFGQZ\">BR news outlet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In response, the Westallg\u00e4u-Lindau AfD district association has signaled its intent to challenge this speech ban in court. In a court hearing expected to take place in Augsburg today, a final ruling is expected to be issued.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute centers on a rally scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 15, in the municipal L\u00f6wensaal, where the AfD intends to introduce its candidates for the upcoming local elections on March 8. The city moved to reclaim the hall once it became clear that H\u00f6cke, the Thuringian AfD leader, was on the guest list.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rmx.news\/commentary\/will-the-afd-party-be-banned-in-germany\/\">Will the AfD party be banned in Germany? <\/a><\/p>\n<p>City officials justified the move by stating they expected\u00a0\u201ccriminal statements as well as statements approving of the Nazi dictatorship and anti-Semitic statements\u201d\u00a0from H\u00f6cke, specifically citing his two previous convictions for using a prohibited Nazi slogan.<\/p>\n<p>While the Administrative Court found the city\u2019s concerns to be\u00a0\u201cunderstandable,\u201d\u00a0they ruled that canceling the rental outright violated the principle of equal treatment for political parties. The court maintained that the administration\u2019s arguments were\u00a0\u201cnot sufficient for such a step.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the legal battle continues, local tensions are high. Opponents of the AfD have organized rallies and a demonstration, with at least 2,000 participants expected to gather in Lindenberg.<\/p>\n<p>Lindenberg is not the only municipality fighting a \u201cH\u00f6cke appearance\u201d this week. A similar battle is unfolding in Seybothenreuth, Upper Franconia, where H\u00f6cke is slated to speak on Saturday. The local municipality is also attempting to block his speech, and a decision from the Bayreuth Administrative Court is expected this Thursday.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rmx.news\/article\/german-courts-could-issue-speaking-ban-against-major-afd-politician-in-latest-blow-to-free-speech\/\">Source\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The political establishment in Germany is alarmed by the growing popularity of Alternative for Germany (AfD). To contain rising support attempts are underway to ban AfD politician Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke from addressing public gatherings <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":323138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-323136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=323136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323137,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323136\/revisions\/323137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/323138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=323136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=323136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=323136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}