AfD in Brandenburg: Andreas Kalbitz is said to have beaten party colleagues

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Dennis Hohloch and Andreas Kalbitz: Did you have a physical argument?

In the AfD parliamentary group there is again a dispute over the currently retired parliamentary group leader Andreas Kalbitz. According to the state association, Kalbitz is said to have punched his representative as parliamentary leader, Parliamentary Managing Director Dennis Hohloch, on the evening of August 10 in the office of a speaker. Hohloch was then taken to the intensive care unit the next day. Doctors in a Berlin hospital diagnosed a ruptured spleen.

According to party circles, Kalbitz has "Hohloch ready for hospital". Other MPs confirm the stay in the hospital, but do not want to comment on the background. First, the editorial network Germany (RND) reported on the incident.

A screenshot is currently making the rounds in the AfD that shows a Facebook post from the member of the Junge Alternative from Saxony-Anhalt, Steven Hellmuth. You can see Hellmuth visiting the hospital with Hohloch lying on a bed. When asked by SPIEGEL, Hellmuth referred to the agreed confidentiality regarding the incident. Shortly afterwards, SPIEGEL received a lawyer letter from him.

Spread rumors of opponents of Kalbitz?

In an AfD internal WhatsApp chat with the title "Plenum Chatterbox", which is available to SPIEGEL, the Saxon-Anhalt AfD member of the Bundestag Frank Pasemann writes about a "fairy tale of the tangible conflict between Hohloch and Kalbitz". This is spread by the "well-known opposition in the Brandenburg parliamentary group", he means the internal Kalbitz critics of the AfD parliamentary group in Potsdam. Pasemann is considered a supporter of the formally dissolved right-wing extremist "wing" in the AfD.

In fact, as Pasemann describes the process, Kalbitz Hohloch "buffed in a friendly manner". There was "no quarrel" between the two. "Hohloch complained hours later of pain and nausea. He was then driven to the hospital and it was found that an undiagnosed but long-standing cyst in the spleen had burst."

Hohloch himself is said to have spoken of a "tear in the spleen," as quoted by several party friends. A screenshot with a message from August 11th is also making the rounds. In it Hohloch writes: "Good evening, I will probably be out the whole week. I'm in the hospital with a ruptured spleen." In the group meeting on Tuesday, it should be clarified what exactly happened.

Kalbitz does not want to be quoted

SPIEGEL was able to reach Kalbitz on Monday evening - he did not want to comment on the incident or be quoted. Hohloch, who actually belongs to the Kalbitz followers, did not respond to calls and SMS on Monday. On request, both the police and the Potsdam public prosecutor said in the afternoon that they had no knowledge of the incident so far.

Even if the violation of Hohloch had not been caused deliberately, it could still be criminally relevant under certain circumstances. The criminal offense of negligent bodily harm would come into consideration.

The AfD has been fighting bitterly about Kalbitz for months. He is currently still in litigation with his party because the party executive has canceled his membership. In May, the AfD federal executive board, in a tight decision brought in by party chairman Jörg Meuthen, stated that Kalbitz had previously been a member of the now banned right-wing extremist home-loyal German youth (HDJ) when he joined the party in 2013. as well as not specified among the Republicans. Kalbitz denies HDJ membership, but an expert report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution indicates HDJ membership for an "Andreas Kalbitz family" under the number "01330".

On Friday, the Berlin Regional Court will hear an urgent application by Kalbitz, which is directed against the decision of the Federal Party Arbitration Court, which had declared the cancellation of Kalbitz's membership to be legal.