A politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Bavaria has been criminally charged with a range of charges, including sedition, the use of banned extremist symbols, money laundering and coercion.
Daniel Halemba, 22, was elected to the Bavarian state parliament in 2023. His fellow lawmakers have already lifted his parliamentary immunity to allow the criminal case to proceed.
The national AfD party organization has also initiated expulsion proceedings against Halemba for allegedly violating party rules.
Prosecutors have been investigating Halemba for months. The brotherhood to which Halemba belonged at the university in Würzburg, Teutonia Prague, was raided by the police in September 2023.
The brotherhood has a reputation for far-right politics, and authorities have raised suspicions that it used banned extremist symbols and violated anti-sedition laws.
In April this year, the Public Prosecution Service also started investigations into suspicions of money laundering, material damage and coercion.
Halemba has repeatedly denied the allegations. His lawyer announced on Friday that the Public Prosecution Service had already had to scrap large parts of the original investigation.
He said his client should also be acquitted of the charges now against him.
Halemba announced in December that he would resign from all party offices and suspend his membership in the party until the allegations were cleared up.
In April, he wrote to the AfD group in the Bavarian parliament saying he would refrain from public activities related to the faction until the criminal case is concluded.
