A well-known figure in a German far-right party tells his trial he is completely innocent

BERLIN — One of the best-known figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party said Tuesday at his trial on charges of using a Nazi slogan that he is “completely innocent.” Björn Höcke went on trial at the state court in the eastern city of Halle last week, months before a regional election in the state of Thuringia in which he plans to run for the governor’s job. Höcke is accused of ending a speech in nearby Merseburg in May 2021 with the words “Everything for Germany!” Prosecutors contend he was aware of the origin of the phrase as a slogan of the Nazis’ SA stormtroopers, but Höcke has argued that it is an “everyday saying.” There are no formal pleas in the German legal system and defendants aren’t obliged to respond to the charges. The former history teacher described himself as a “law-abiding citizen.” Court sessions in the trial are scheduled through May 14. The Thuringia branch of the AfD is now one of three that the domestic intelligence agency has under official surveillance as a “proven right-wing extremist” group.