The Berlin-based American playwright and political satirist CJ Hopkins published two tweets in August 2022 showing a swastika shining through behind a mask. He then received a penalty order from the Berlin-Tiergarten district court for €3,600 or 60 days in prison for distributing an unconstitutional license plate. He lodged an objection against this, so that an oral hearing took place on January 23, 2024, in which he was acquitted. CJ Hopkins' plea is a wonderful testimony of an upright, fearless writer who ruthlessly exposes the new totalitarian development in Germany. We publish it below with thanks for his kind permission.
Epoch Time s
In the first tweet, above the picture of the mask it said: “ Masks are symbols of ideological conformity...” In the second tweet, a photo of Karl Lauterbach from a “Welt” article was inserted under the picture with the mask with the quote: “The mask works always a signal from” – Karl Lauterbach, August 2022.” 1
The public prosecutor explained that the indictment was not about drawing a comparison between National Socialism and the state Corona measures. He believes the defendant's statements that he is against Nazi ideology. The question is whether it was immediately apparent when using the swastika symbol that it was in opposition to the ideology of Nazi rule. He refers to § 86a StGB, which also contains the exclusion of punishment if the act is “civic education, the defense of unconstitutional efforts, art or science, research or teaching, reporting on current events or history or similar purposes”. 2
The prosecutor's argument is far-fetched, and the judge couldn't follow it even with the best will in the world. She had to acquit him, but felt " compelled to follow suit ," as Uli Gellermann writes, "and to read out to the audience and the media a long epistle in which she pigeonholed the accused into the category of swearers and conspiracy theorists, and then triumphantly proclaimed, that Hopkins' acquittal would probably dismiss all of his suspicions against the state.
The fact that a normal legal act, the acquittal of an innocent person, has to serve as proof of democracy proves enough how thin the democratic whitewash is. And the judge’s minutes-long insults to the defendant and the democracy movement clearly showed how the supposedly independent German judiciary is carrying out ideological propaganda.” 3
CJHopkins' impressive plea:
“My name is CJ Hopkins. I am an American playwright, author and political satirist. My plays have been produced internationally and received wide recognition. My political satire and commentary are read by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. 20 years ago, I left my own country because of the fascist atmosphere that prevailed in the United States at the time of the US invasion of Iraq - a war of aggression based on the government's lies. I came to Germany and made a new life for myself in Berlin because I believed that Germany, because of its history, would be the last place on earth that would ever have anything to do with any form of totalitarianism again.
The gods have a strange sense of humor. Last week, thousands of people took to the streets across Germany to protest against fascism. They chanted, “Never again is now!” Many of these people spent the last three years, 2020 to 2023, unconditionally following orders, parroting official propaganda, and demonizing anyone who dared to challenge the government’s unconstitutional and authoritarian actions to question during the so-called Covid pandemic. Many of these people fighting for Palestinian rights are now shocked that the new form of totalitarianism they helped create is turning against them. And here I am sitting in front of a criminal court in Berlin, accused of spreading pro-Nazi propaganda in two tweets about mask requirements. The German authorities censored my speech on the Internet and damaged my reputation and income as an author. One of my books was banned by Amazon in Germany. And that because I criticized the German authorities, because I protested against one of their decrees, because I pointed out one of their lies.
This turn of events would be absurdly funny if it weren't so infuriating. I cannot adequately express how insulting it is to have to sit here and reiterate my opposition to fascism. For over thirty years I have been writing and speaking out against fascism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, etc. Anyone can do an Internet search, find my books, read the reviews of my plays, and read my essays and find out who I am in two or three minutes and what political views I have. And yet I am accused by the German authorities of spreading pro-Nazi propaganda. I am accused of this because I posted two tweets that question the official narrative of the coronavirus pandemic and attribute the new, emerging form of totalitarianism it brought into being - i.e. the so-called "New Normal" - to Nazi Compare Germany.
I want to be very clear. In these tweets, and in my 2020-2022 essays, and in my current essays, I have actually compared the rise of this new form of totalitarianism to the rise of the most famous form of totalitarianism of the 20th century, i.e. Nazi Germany. I have made this comparison repeatedly, analyzing the similarities and differences between these two forms of totalitarianism. I will continue to do that. I will continue to study this new, emerging form of totalitarianism and attempt to explain it, to resist it, and to warn my readers about it.
The two tweets in question show a swastika half-hidden by one of the medical masks that everyone was required to wear from 2020 to 2022. This is the artwork on the cover of my book. The message conveyed by the artwork is clear. In Nazi Germany, the swastika was the symbol of conformity to the official ideology. From 2020 to 2022, the masks functioned as a symbol of conformity to a new official ideology. That was their purpose. Their purpose was to force compliance with government regulations and conformity to the official Corona narrative, a narrative that is now proven to consist largely of propaganda and lies.
Mask requirements do not work against airborne viruses. This had been understood and recognized by medical experts for decades before spring 2020. Now it has been proven to everyone and recognized once again by medical experts. The science of mask requirements did not suddenly change in March 2020. The official narrative has changed. The official ideology has changed. The official “reality” has changed. Karl Lauterbach was absolutely right when he said: “The mask always sends a signal.” The signal, from 2020 to 2022, was: “I obey. I don't ask any questions. Order is order."
That's not how democratic societies work. This is how totalitarian systems work.
Not all forms of totalitarianism are the same, but they share common characteristics. Forcing people to display symbols of conformity to the system's official ideology is a hallmark of totalitarian systems. Declaring a “state of emergency” and revoking constitutional rights without justifiable cause is a hallmark of totalitarian systems. The ban on protests against government decisions is a hallmark of totalitarian systems. Flooding the public with lies and propaganda designed to scare people into mindless obedience is a hallmark of totalitarian systems. The segregation of societies is a hallmark of totalitarian systems. Censorship of dissent is a classic hallmark of totalitarianism. Depriving people of their jobs because they refuse to conform to official ideology is a hallmark of totalitarianism. Stirring up mass hatred against a “scapegoat” class of people is a hallmark of totalitarianism. Demonizing critics of official ideology is a hallmark of totalitarianism. The instrumentalization of the law to punish dissidents and government critics is a hallmark of totalitarianism.
Since March 2020, I have documented the emergence of all of these features of totalitarianism in societies throughout the West, including but not limited to Germany. I will continue to do this. I will continue to warn my readers about this new, emerging form of totalitarianism and seek to understand and resist it. I will compare this new form of totalitarianism with previous forms of totalitarianism, and in particular with Nazi Germany, whenever appropriate and contributing to our understanding of current events. That is my job as a political satirist and commentator and author, and my responsibility as a human being.
The German authorities can punish me for this. You have the power to do that. You can make an example of me. You can give me a fine. You can lock me up. You can ban my books. You can censor my speech on the Internet as they have done. They can defame me and damage my income and reputation as an author, as they have already done. You can demonize me as a “conspiracy theorist,” “corona denier,” “anti-vaxxer,” “idiot,” “lateral thinker,” and “extremist,” as they have done. They can put me before a criminal court in Germany, in front of my wife, a Jew, and force me to deny that I am an anti-Semite, relativizing the Holocaust. You have the power to do all of this.
But I hope you will at least have the integrity to call a spade a spade and not hide behind false accusations that I am somehow "supporting the Nazis" by linking the rise of a new form of totalitarianism to an earlier form of totalitarianism compare, an earlier form of totalitarianism that swept across this entire country in the 20th century and ultimately destroyed it, murdering millions in the process because too few Germans had the courage to oppose it when it began. I hope you will have the integrity not to act as if you truly believe that I am spreading pro-Nazi propaganda when you know full well that I am not.
No one with integrity believes I do this. No one with integrity believes my tweets in 2022 did that. Every journalist who has covered my case, everyone in this courtroom, understands what this prosecution is really about. It has nothing to do with punishing people who really spread Nazi propaganda. It's about punishing those who think differently and making examples of dissidents in order to intimidate and silence others.
That's not how democratic nations work. This is how totalitarian systems work.
What I hope even more is that this court will put an end to this prosecution, apply the law fairly, and not allow it to be used as an excuse to punish people like me, people who criticize government regulations and the lies of government officials expose, people who refuse to deny the facts, people who refuse to perform absurd obedience rituals when ordered, people who refuse to follow orders unconditionally.
Because the issue here is much bigger and much more important than my little “tweet” case.
We are once again at a crossroads. Not just here in Germany, but also throughout the West. During the so-called Corona pandemic, people went a little crazy, a little fascist. And now we are here. There are two streets in front of us. We have to choose. You, me... all of us. One path leads back to the rule of law and democratic principles. The other path leads to authoritarianism, to societies where authorities rule by decree and force, twisting the law at will, dictating what is reality and what is not, and abusing their power to silence anyone who disagrees with them matches.
This is the path to totalitarianism. We've been down this road before. Please, let’s not do it again.” 4
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1 See: https://www.epochtimes.de/politik/deutschland/nach- Hakenkreuz-tweets-freistimm-fuer-satiriker-cj-hopkins-a4566184.html
2 a.a.O.
3 https://www.rationalgalerie.de/home/ein-freistimm-mit-nachtritt
4 Reproduced with permission from the author: see note 3
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