Stefan Niehoff, a 64-year-old pensioner from Bavaria, has been convicted for sharing several satirical Nazi-era images on his X social media account.
A district court in Haßfurt fined Niehoff €825 after finding him guilty on four counts related to the illegal use of unconstitutional symbols—memes with Nazi-era symbols that were clearly satirical of nature but which the court failed to acknowledge.
The judge noted that German law labels any depiction of such symbols as illegal unless their critical intent is unmistakable, which he determined was not clearly evident in Niehoff’s case.
Targeting a pensioner for posting anti-establishment satire and commentary seems intended to intimidate ordinary citizens from criticizing public figures.
Stefan Niehoff made headlines last year when his house was raided by police over a meme he posted on X in which he called then-Economy Minister Robert Habeck a “professional idiot.” The raid took place after the Green Party politician filed a criminal complaint.
In that case, Niehoff was acquitted last month.
His case is not an isolated one, as Sabine Beppler-Spahl reveals in her recent commentary on europeanconservative.com.
