A German court begin hearing the case Tuesday against two far-right extremists accused of killing a regional politician whose execution-style slaying shocked the country last year.
Walter Luebcke, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party who led the regional administration in the Kassel area of central Germany, was shot on his porch on June 1, 2019, and died later that night.
Stephan Ernst, a 46-year-old with previous convictions for violent anti-migrant crimes, is accused of murder, attempted murder, serious bodily harm and firearms offenses.
A second man, identified only as Markus H. because of privacy rules, is charged with being an accessory to murder and breaking firearms laws.