We can laugh at Donald Trump’s assassination attempt, German justice

Make fun of Donald Trump’s assassination attempt can a criminal sanction? After a lively debate, German justice acquitted one of the most prominent comedians in the country on Wednesday pleading the right to satire.

It is a short message, published on his account X a year ago, which earned the humorist Sebastian Hotz, known as the pseudonym The Hotzoto appear before a Berlin court for hate.

Commenting on the assassination attempt including Donald Trump, then a republican candidate for the presidential election, had just been a victim on July 13, 2024 during a political rally in Pennsylvania, the 29 -year -old had launched a joke.

Asking his subscribers, who are more than 700,000, what is the common point between The last bus And Donald Trump, he had provided this answer: Unfortunately, little missed. In the following message, he said he found absolutely fantastic that fascists die.

Even after having deleted his content in the quarter of an hour, the satirist was the subject of around fifty complaints supported by the court which estimated that these messages were likely to disturb public order, particularly in a context of rise in violence against political representatives.

In Germany, we can think everything we mean and say a lot, but we can’t say everythingsaid prosecutor Marc-Alexander Liebig at the hearing, requiring a fine of 6,000 euros for the humorist.

The court was not convinced by the argument of the public prosecutor, judging that words obviously satirical were not likely to encourage hatred.

In a liberal democracy, it is desirable that we can debate good or bad opinionsadded the judge about the controversy that followed.

It is my right to sometimes go beyond the limits and not to hit the bull’s eye […] Even bad taste jokes and bad jokes should be exempt from sanctions, otherwise justice would be quickly overwhelmed.

Germany is known for two things: its bad humor and the fascistshe had declared to the hearing, explaining that Its mission was to fight against these two scourges.

On July 13, 2024, in the midst of gathering, a young man had shot Donald Trump, injuring him in his ear, killing a sympathizer present in the stands and injuring two others.