Oefele wins in court

Created: 04/21/2022, 09:00

By: Michaele Heske

Kalle Oefele has a good laugh.

© Michaele Heske

"The party" district chairman may call "Erdinger Patrioten" a right-wing extremist group

Dorfen – At the beginning of the year, the “Erdinger Patriots” reported 23-year-old Kalle Oefele, district chairman of the satirical party “Die Party”, for defamation because he had publicly described them as a “right-wing extremist group”.

But now it's official: the public prosecutor's office in Landshut has closed the

The Monday walks have long been a thorn in the side of Oefele and his party comrades.

In particular, the AfD offshoot the “Erdinger Patrioten”, who have been happily marching in front of the unannounced Corona demos in Erding for months.

Shortly before Christmas there was a scandal: In a press release, Oefele denounced the attitude of the "patriots".

The 23-year-old student from Dorfen also saw an obvious connection between the "Erdinger Patriots" and the relevant telegram chat "Erdinger Freiheitsforum".

He wrote that a chat administrator "poses on his profile picture with the fascist Bernd Höcke in front of a banner of the Erdinger Patrioten" - by which he of course meant Björn Höcke, but deliberately and as a satirical running gag called him by his wrong first name.

In the new year it became apparent that the "Erdinger Patriots" had no sense of humor, Oefele believes.

They reported the young politician for defamation.

This was followed up again in a further press release in March.

In it he listed further aspects of how he came to his assessment of the “AfD preliminary organization with close ties to the völkisch-nationalist wing”.

Among other reasons: “On the association’s website, further links to the alleged QAnon conspiracy, to the right-wing Compact Magazine and other relevant pages are recommended.” Therefore it is clear to him: “That’s what I call a right-wing group, no question. In addition, in his opinion, “the biggest conspiracy theorists” were among themselves during the walks.

Shortly before Easter, the official decision came: The procedure was discontinued.

"The public prosecutor's office in Landshut had also obtained an assessment from the police in Erding," says Oefele, whose lawyer had requested access to the files.

"I think it's a clear sign that the public prosecutor's office has no doubts that 'right-wing extremist group' is a correct attribution," he interprets.

Oefele ironically apologized to the Erdinger "Patriots".

He was "terribly sorry, I thought that the 'Erdinger Patrioten' and AfDler felt praised and strengthened by this designation".

Without irony, he adds that it is "significant that the 'Erdinger Patriots' insist on their freedom of expression, but respond to unwanted criticism with a complaint".

However, he and his friends will not be intimidated.

"We will continue to name racists, oppose right-wing hate speech and show a clear edge against the right," he promises.

Oefele says he has tried several times to strike up a conversation with the Monday strollers.

He tried to refute the arguments of the conspiracy theorists with facts from reputable media: "No chance – it was only called the lying press."

Of course, Oefele is extremely pleased that the number of demos is steadily shrinking.

In his opinion, only the "hardcore demonstrators" are now taking to the streets, including, of course, the "earthy patriots".

Nevertheless, he would not have shied away from a court case.

"I would have liked to test how they would have talked their way out of it."