The Bavarian member of parliament, Daniel Halemba, will soon have to appear in court: The public prosecutor’s office in Würzburg has charged the young AfD politician with several counts, including incitement to hatred and coercion.
The Würzburg public prosecutor’s office has filed charges against Bavarian AfD state parliament member Daniel Halemba. In the 14-page document, he is accused of incitement, money laundering, coercion and attempted coercion, as well as using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations and property damage.
The Bavarian state parliament had already lifted Halemba’s parliamentary immunity at the end of April. At the same time, the AfD’s federal executive board had applied for the 22-year-old to be expelled from the party due to possible violations of the party’s statutes.
First arrest, then lifting of the arrest warrant
The public prosecutor’s office has been investigating Halemba for months. In September 2023, there was a search of the house of the Würzburg fraternity Teutonia Prag, of which Halemba was a member. Suspicion arose of using symbols of anti-constitutional organizations and of incitement to hatred. In October, Halemba was arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant, which was later suspended.
In April of this year, the public prosecutor’s office also began investigations into suspicions of money laundering, damage to property and joint coercion. In response to the public prosecutor’s new allegations, Halemba said: “I am firmly convinced that I have not committed a criminal offense.”
Daniel Halemba denies allegations
Halemba himself has always denied the allegations. His lawyer announced on Friday that the public prosecutor’s office had already had to drop large parts of the original investigation. His client should also be acquitted of the charges now being brought.
Halemba had already announced in December last year that he would resign from all party offices and suspend his membership in the party until the allegations had been clarified. In April, he announced in a letter to the parliamentary group that he also wanted to suspend his functions in the group until the proceedings had been concluded, that he would no longer appear in the plenary session or in committees and that he would also refrain from all other public activities as a member of the group.
Source: Stern
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