A 64-year-old German pensioner’s house was raided by police, and his computer and mobile phone confiscated, after a complaint by Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who was upset that the pensioner had called him an imbecile on social media.
The disturbing scenes, which the pensioner described as reminiscent of the Communist era, played out on Tuesday, November 12th, according to German media reports.
The public prosecutor’s office said that Green party politician Robert Habeck, who is the vice chancellor as well as the economy minister, had filed the criminal complaint himself, which led to the police raid in the Bavarian town of Bamberg.
Stefan Niehoff was woken up by police officers at dawn—together with his wife and daughter, who has Down syndrome, according to news portal Nius.de.
The pensioner’s crime, which Habeck could not tolerate, was that, a few months ago, he had posted a meme on his X social media page, in which beauty care brand Schwarzkopf Professional’s logo was replaced by the words Schwachkopf Professional—which means professional idiot or imbecile—with a picture of a smiling Habeck.
The man said he never thought an innocent meme would result in a house raid, and that the actions of Habeck are reminiscent of the Communist era in East Germany.
According to the prosecutors, the man’s goal was “to defame Robert Habeck in general and to make his work as a member of the federal government more difficult.”
Under a law introduced by the previous Angela Merkel-led German government, politicians have the right to file a criminal complaint if they believe that they have been the target of defamatory comments in relation to their official duties. Someone found guilty of such a crime can be fined or sent to prison for up to three years.
According to conservative publication Junge Freiheit, Green politicians have been making use of this legislation: Habeck employs a team of lawyers who scour all social networks every day for alleged insults. The vice chancellor has filed 805 criminal complaints; his colleague, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has filed 453.
It is no wonder that the Greens, who have overseen unpopular climate and woke policies in the past three years, are constantly losing the support of the electorate with antics like these.
The case of an entrepreneur in the Bavarian town of Miesbach was another incident that caused a huge uproar earlier this year. Michael Much put up posters in his own backyard, featuring Habeck, Baerbock, and two other high-ranking Green politicians, with the following caption: “We are ruining everything.”
Police raided his house, too, and the posters were confiscated, but a court dismissed the lawsuit brought against him, as it deemed that the posters were a legitimate expression of his opinion.
Both incidents are typical of the Greens who, in the name of fighting “hate speech,” frantically want to quell the voices of those they don’t agree with.
Annalena Baerbock recently called on the European Commission to adopt new rules for dealing with “disinformation” on social networks. She cited targeted attacks on democracy as her motive, saying fake news, hatred and agitation were “disintegrating our democratic reality.”
