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Published on 23/07/2025 - 16:31 GMT+2
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A Berlin-based satirist was acquitted by a court in Germany on Wednesday after facing charges of endorsing last year's assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
Following the shooting during a US election campaign rally last July, Sebastian Hotz, known online as "El Hotzo", wrote a post on X asking what Trump and the "last bus" had in common, before saying that both had "unfortunately just been missed."
In a follow-up post, the 29-year-old said: "I find it absolutely fantastic when fascists die."
A gunman opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing Trump's ear and killing one of his supporters in the crowd. Trump went on to win the White House in November.
Prosecutors charged Hotz with approval of offences over the posts, and at a one-day trial at the Tiergarten district court in Berlin, they called for him to be given a €6,000 fine.
They argued that the posts fell into the category of hate crimes and, because Hotz has nearly 740,000 followers on X, could disturb the public peace.
Hotz argued that what a satirist says should be understood as comedy, and that "playing with provocation" is his job.
In her ruling, Judge Andrea Wilms said that Hotz's post was clearly recognisable as satire and should go unpunished, even if the comments may have been tasteless.
She argued that no one would feel called upon to commit acts of violence by "such clearly satirical utterances," according to a court statement.
Following his acquittal, Hotz shared on X a photo of Trump in the aftermath of the assassination attempt. In the photo, Trump can be seen with his face smeared with blood and his right fist raised while being escorted away by Secret Service agents.
The German Journalists' Association earlier this week criticised the trial as excessive and said that the case should be closed, arguing that satirical freedom should be interpreted generously.
It noted that public broadcaster RBB already terminated its work with Hotz as a result of the post.
