It’s published
The Berlin-based satirist was acquitted from a German court on Wednesday after facing charges of confirming an attempted assassination of Donald Trump last year.
Following the shooting at a US campaign rally last July, Sebastian Hotz, known online as “El Hotzo,” wrote a post about X asking what Trump and “The Last Bus” had in common.
In a follow-up post, the 29-year-old said:
The gunman fired at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing Trump’s ears and killing one of his supporters in the crowd. Trump continued to beat the White House in November.
Prosecutors asked Hotz to approve the crime against the Post and in a one-day trial in the District Court of Tiergarten in Berlin, they called for him to be fined 6,000 euros.
They claimed that the Post was categorized as a hate crime category, and that Hotz has nearly 740,000 followers on X, which could disrupt public peace.
Hotz argued that what the satirists say should be understood as comedy and that it was his job to “play with provocation.”
In her ruling, Judge Andrea Wilmes said Hotz’s post was clearly perceived as satire and should not be punished, even if the comments were tasteless.
She argued that no one was asked to commit violence through “such clearly satirical statements.”
Following his innocence, Hotz shared a picture of Trump on X in the aftermath of his assassination attempt. In the photo, Trump can be seen smearing his face with blood and his right fist is escorted by a secret service agent.
Earlier this week, the German Journalists Association criticized the trial as being overkill, arguing that satirical freedom should be interpreted generously, saying the case should be closed.
Public broadcaster RBB noted that it has already finished work with Hotz as a result of the post.
Additional sources •AP