German far-right lawmaker stands trial charged with using Nazi slogan

A leading member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party appeared in court on Thursday charged with using a banned Nazi paramilitary slogan, in a trial just months before a state election he aims to win. Bjoern Hoecke, head of the AfD in the eastern state of Thuringia, is part of the nationalist wing of the AfD, officially designated by the domestic intelligence agency as "right-wing extremist." The trial takes place at a time when the AfD, second in national polls behind the opposition conservatives, is under scrutiny over reports that some senior party figures had discussed the deportation of people with non-ethnic German backgrounds. Several hundred protesters gathered in the eastern city of Halle holding placards with the words: "Bjoern Hoecke is a Nazi" before the defendant entered a packed court room carrying files and dressed in a dark suit. If convicted, Hoecke could face a fine or prison sentence of up to three years and may also be barred from public office. In 2018, he called the Holocaust memorial in Berlin a "monument of shame" and has said Germans need to reverse the way they look at their past and adopt a more positive approach. He was banned from entering the Buchenwald concentration camp in 2017 due to his revisionist views. (Reuters)  
 