Friedrich Merz insulted: search of man from Stuttgart

The trained nurse from Haßberge in Lower Franconia was angry that day in October 2023. Friedrich Merz had just blasphemed the traffic light government and its cannabis decision on the short message service X. “We as @cducsubt will fight with all our might to ensure that the legalization of the drug #Cannabis planned by the #Traffic light at its last therapy session at Meseberg Castle does not happen,” wrote the Union faction leader.

The 50-year-old, herself in psychotherapy and upset by the wording, commented: “Your choice of words is really bad. ‘Therapy session’ in this context is a slap in the face for mentally ill people. Delete yourselves, you assholes.”

A comment that the woman would regret very much. At the beginning of May 2024 she received a letter from the police asking her to attend a hearing. Friedrich Merz had personally filed a criminal complaint against her.

The matter came to trial this August. The proceedings were discontinued in exchange for a fine of 1,000 euros. The woman deleted her post and apologized. The woman’s lawyer from Bavaria, Horst Soutschek, can understand why politicians report insults. The Internet is not a lawless space, he says, but in this case he thinks: “They’re shooting sparrows with cannons.”

The environmental activist Tadzio Müller was also reported by Friedrich Merz for tweets in autumn 2023. In response to a comment by the CDU leader on asylum law, he accused him of being a “shameless asshole” and described him as a “racist asshole” in another post. Both procedures are still ongoing. Müller is not aware of any guilt. He sees the ads as an attempt to intimidate him: “It’s not about an insult or defamation. It’s about pushing people like me out of public discourse.”

However, the case against a man who posted a video of a cat slurping water on

The CDU politician didn’t want to accept that and reported the man. But he defended himself with his lawyer – and successfully.

The cat video, which the user has since deleted, remains unpunished. The lawyer argued with artistic freedom.

For days, a debate has been raging on social networks about the question of whether politicians can legally defend themselves against insults – and what consequences these advertisements should have.

The discussion was triggered by a house search of a 64-year-old pensioner from Bavaria who had retweeted a post on The action sparked outrage among many people on social networks and a debate about proportionality.

The public prosecutor’s office announced in a press release that the house search had already been requested before Habeck’s criminal complaint and had been approved by the district court. She had previously refused to comment on this issue for days.

Habeck explained afterwards that he had only been made aware of the insult by the Bavarian police. “Of course, ‘imbecile’ is not the worst insult ever said,” he told ARD. But at the beginning of the legislative period he decided to punish insults.

Habeck had no influence on the house search. It is up to the law enforcement agency what measures it takes in the investigation. Habeck’s political opponents accused the Green politician of reacting too sensitively to a relatively “harmless” insult and thus endangering freedom of expression.

But those star-Research shows: Friedrich Merz also repeatedly took action against insults online. A collective application signed by him dated October 23, 2023, which star is available, shows the range. In the offending posts, Merz is described by various people as a “wanker”, a “corrupt fascist” and a “disgusting asshole”. All insults that are also punishable beyond the internet.

“Friedrich Merz has insults against himself on social media prosecuted,” a spokesman confirmed star. Mr. Merz donated the resulting compensation payments and fines “in full to social purposes in the Hochsauerland district.”

The spokesman does not want to say how often the Union faction leader filed a criminal complaint for insult.

In at least two cases, the CDU leader complied with a criminal complaint star-Information about a house search. In the first case, an

Six months later, her doorbell rang and two police officers stood there with a search warrant. Even today, the woman, who says she is in a wheelchair, is close to tears when she talks about it: “I have never done anything to anyone in my entire life.” She feels intimidated. She has since deleted her profile on X.

Her lawyer, Jannik Rienhoff, confirmed to the star the house search. He represented a total of five people who were reported by Friedrich Merz, including the man with the cat mail and Tadzio Müller. Rienhoff is critical of the advertisements: Some statements are punishable. “But most of the cases are nothing; such a powerful politician should be in charge of this.” An accusation that was also made against Robert Habeck.

A man from Stuttgart also found out what drastic consequences insulting Merz online can have. For him, too, the reason was a comment on X. He responded to a post from Merz about the legalization of cannabis with “Eat up, drunk head”.

Here too, Merz filed a criminal complaint. Because the accused refused to testify, the responsible public prosecutor’s office requested a house search, which was approved by the district court. The decision states: “The search and seizure is proportionate to the seriousness of the crime and the strength of the suspicion and is necessary for the investigation.” During the search, the man’s cell phone and laptop were confiscated, among other things.

The person concerned lodged a complaint and was right. The Stuttgart regional court ruled that the search was “unlawful.” The criminal proceedings for insult are still ongoing.

Konstantin Grubwinkler is a criminal defense lawyer and co-founder of the law firm that represented the Stuttgart native. “A house search is a serious interference with the inviolability of the apartment as enshrined in the Basic Law,” says the lawyer: “For those affected, it is an extreme case when the police suddenly show up in their bedroom. That is why such an intervention must always be proportionate to the severity stand by the fact.”

According to the Bavarian defense lawyer, this is not the case in the case of Habeck’s insult or in that of the man from Stuttgart: “For public insults there are fines or prison sentences of up to two years.” A house search for such “minor crimes” is “out of all proportion to the level of punishment that can be expected”.

The problem is not that politicians take action against insults, says Grubwinkler. Rather, courts authorized house searches in such cases. Grubwinkler warns: “If small cases like these are waved through by judges, boundaries will shift. If in the future the apartment is searched every time there is an insult, we are abandoning the foundation of the constitutional state.”