German far-right leader in court charged with using Nazi slogan

One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party has arrived in court for his trial on charges of using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state’s governor.

Björn Höcke, 52, is the leader of the regional branch of the AfD in the eastern state of Thuringia and a powerful figure on the party’s hard right.

Demonstrators gathered outside the court before the trial opened on Thursday, with banners including “Björn Höcke is a Nazi” and “Stop AfD!” About 570 protesters turned out, according to police.

Höcke has led AfD’s regional branch in Thuringia since 2013, the year the party was founded, and its group in the state legislature in Erfurt since it first won seats there in 2014.

The AfD is particularly strong in the formerly communist east and is in first place in polls in Thuringia ahead of a state election on 1 September, with recent surveys showing support of 29-31%.

It is unlikely that any other party will agree to work with Höcke and put him in the governor’s office, but the AfD’s strength has made forming governing coalitions in the state enormously complicated.