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| Europe |
| Two Tier |
| 2025-07-24 |
| [DW] Sebastian Hotz was on trial for posting online remarks that prosecutors said condoned an assassination attempt on the now US leader. Now, a court has cleared him of all charges, recognizing his statements as satire. A court in Berlin on Wednesday acquitted comedian Sebastian Hotz, 29, of charges that he had condoned a criminal offense with online posts after last year's assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Shortly after the attempted assassination, Hotz, known widely by his stage name "El Hotzo," had asked in a post on X, formerly Twitter, what Trump and "the last bus" had in common, giving the answer that both had "unfortunately been missed." He also later wrote that he found it "absolutely fantastic when fascists die." CLEAR SATIRE, SAYS JUDGE The posts were clearly recognizable as satire, Judge Andrea Wilms said as she handed down her verdict, adding that she could not discern any intention to disturb public order. While describing the posts as being in bad taste, she said she did not believe that anyone would feel incited to commit a crime after reading such obviously satirical statements. The fact that Hotz's posts had triggered heated debates did not mean they were of a legally punishable nature, Wilms said. Rather, in a liberal democracy it was desirable "for people to be able to argue about good and bad opinions," she added. PROSECUTORS ALLEGE HATE CRIME State prosecutor Marc-Alexander Liebig had argued that Hotz's statements could be classified as "hate crimes" and were such as to disrupt public order. He said they had been made at a time when politicians, election officials and volunteers were increasingly the objects of physical attacks. Liebig said even satirists were not above the law and that it was not obvious that Hotz's statements had been made with satirical intent. "In Germany, you can think anything and say a lot, but you are not allowed to say anything," he said. He had called for Hotz to be fined €6,000 ($7,038). Ahead of the trial, the journalists' association DJV had called on Tuesday for legal action against Hotz to be stopped, saying it was "completely excessive" that the satirist was coming before a court and facing a possible jail sentence.. |
| Posted by:Elmerert Hupens2660 |
| #1 The fact that Hotz was NOT subjected to a punitive dawn raid of his residence is also proof of the two tier system. |
| Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 2025-07-24 01:07 |