The controversial firebrand leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the eastern state of Thuringia will soon face criminal incitement charges after a committee of state lawmakers voted to strip him of his parliamentary immunity on Friday, sources told dpa.
Three AfD deputies were the only members of the committee to vote against lifting Björn Höcke's immunity, sources in the legislature told dpa.
Höcke himself acknowledged it in a social media post in which he claimed he was being targeted for expressing the "wrong opinion" and "questioning the ruling class."
Prosecutors in the town of Mühlhausen have accused Höcke over a 2022 social media post about a violent incident elsewhere in Germany.
Höcke wrote that the perpetrator likely "suffers from that widespread disease among immigrants which makes those affected shout 'Allahu Akbar' and so thoroughly distorts their perception that they view their 'infidel' hosts as unworthy of life."
Members of state parliaments in Germany are generally protected against prosecution. Criminal investigations or charges against elected deputies can only move forward with the approval of a parliamentary committee.
Prosecutors told lawmakers that they believe Höcke will likely be convicted of incitement in the case, according to dpa's sources. A spokesman for the Mühlhausen prosecutor's office told dpa that they intend to file criminal charges "promptly."
