Benjamin Nolte, the deputy parliamentary group leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bavarian State Parliament, is under surveillance by the Bavarian State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz).
According to the German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine, it was the first to report on the surveillance of Benjamin Nolte.
Nolte is the third AfD member of the Bavarian Landtag to be placed under surveillance by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. He joins AfD parliamentarians René Dierkes and Franz Schmid, as well as the AfD party itself, who are already under observation. The Munich Administrative Court confirmed the surveillance of Dierkes, Schmid, and the party in June.
Basis for surveillance
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is monitoring Nolte on suspicion that he abuses his office to fight against the free democratic basic order. Specifically, Nolte supports the concept of 'remigration' propagated by Martin Sellner, the head of the Identitarian Movement in the German-speaking region. The German Federal Constitutional Court has judged the concept of 'remigration' to be directed against human dignity.
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Nolte described the decision to place him under surveillance as 'ridiculous.' He stated that he was previously unaware of the decision and suggested it is based on the AfD's success in election polls.
Total number of AfD members of the Bavarian State Parliament currently under surveillance by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
