The Bavarian Administrative Court has declared two appearances by AfD politician Björn Höcke before the local elections in Bavaria permissible. The municipalities of Seybothenreuth and Lindenberg had tried to prevent him from speaking, but the court found no sufficient grounds for a ban. The decision protects freedom of speech.
In an expedited procedure, the Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH) in Munich has deemed the appearances of Björn Höcke, the AfD state leader in Thüringen, this weekend in Seybothenreuth in the Bayreuth district and in Lindenberg in the Allgäu permissible. The two municipalities had conditioned the use of public halls for AfD election campaign events on Höcke not speaking. This was based on a new provision in the Bavarian municipal code that allows denying public spaces if content is expected that approves, glorifies, or justifies National Socialist rule or is antisemitic.
Previously, the administrative courts in Bayreuth and Augsburg had ruled differently: Bayreuth upheld the speaking ban, Augsburg rejected it. The VGH ruled that there were no sufficiently concrete indications of violations. The judges emphasized that freedom of speech under the Basic Law must not be restricted unless there is a sufficient probability of such content.
Höcke has been convicted twice, with final judgment, for using the banned Nazi slogan 'Alles für Deutschland,' a motto of the Storm Division (SA) of the NSDAP. The Federal Court of Justice confirmed these judgments in August 2024. Höcke is also the chairman of the AfD parliamentary group in Thüringen, and the Thüringen AfD state association is classified by the constitutional protection agency as confirmed right-wing extremist.
The decision comes ahead of the Bavarian local elections on March 8, in which municipal councils, district assemblies, mayors, and district administrators will be elected. On the same day, a state election will take place in Baden-Württemberg.