Germany Punishes American Writer Over Satirical Swastika Image

by CJ Hopkins | Aug 9, 2024

I’ve been speaking to Aaron Reese, Senior Editor/Producer at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (“FIRE”) about my prosecution, and the broader criminalization of dissent, on and off since January. Aaron and his people at FIRE turned our conversations into this short video, which also features James Kirchick, who reported on my prosecution for The Atlantic. It’s short. Please give it a watch.

And FIRE has posted an extensive write-up on their blog.

If you’re not already familiar with FIRE … well, this is from their website:

“The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.”

It means a lot to me that FIRE is helping focus attention on my case, despite the fact that it is happening here in Germany. Yes, I’m an American, but I’m a long way from home, in more ways than one.

One more thing, and then I’ll let you watch the video.

Ironically, as I prepare for my second thoughtcrime trial on August 15, the “Robert Koch-Institute Leak” story is exposing how the German authorities, including Karl Lauterbach, Germany’s Health Minister and the subject of one of my thoughtcrime Tweets, deceived the German public and manipulated “The Science” during the so-called “Covid pandemic.”

I’m not sure whether the shit is actually hitting the fan yet in Germany, but, if it isn’t, it is at least in the general vicinity of the fan. The mainstream media are covering the story, and at least one member of parliament is calling on Lauterbach to step down. I tweeted about that.

I’ll translate for you.

“In Germany, it’s OK for the authorities to lie to the public, and, if you criticize them for lying, they will prosecute you, ban your books, etc., because Germany is a country that operates under the rule of law. Am I understanding that right?”

OK, so it works a better in German. The Federal Republic of Germany prides itself on being a “Rechtsstaat,” a “constitutional state,” which is totally democratic and follows the rule of law, i.e., not the arbitrary orders of psychopathic liars and barking lunatics like … well, you know who.

Anyway, I tagged Karl Lauterbach and the Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann, on that Tweet. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear back from them.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the FIRE video. If you do, please share it as widely as you can. Focusing attention on the criminalization of dissent, i.e., on how the legal system is being instrumentalized, not just here in Germany, but throughout the West, to punish dissidents and intimidate the masses into silence, is really the only weapon we have to fight back with.