A member of the far-right AfD party in Germany has been formally charged with making a Nazi salute inside the Reichstag, Berlin prosecutors announced. The suspect, identified by the press as Matthias Moosdorf, 60, who represents Zwickau in Saxony, is accused of greeting a fellow party member at the Reichstag’s east entrance with a heel click followed by the Hitler salute in June 2023, according to a prosecutor’s statement issued on Monday.
In Germany, performing a Nazi salute is illegal and can carry a penalty of up to three years in prison. Prosecutors noted that the accused appeared to be aware that his gesture could be seen by others in the entrance area. Moosdorf had his parliamentary immunity removed in October as part of the case. He took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday to deny the gesture.
Moosdorf has been affiliated with the AfD since 2016 and previously served as a foreign policy spokesperson for the party’s Bundestag faction. He was relieved of that role in May after tensions within the party arose over his apparent friendliness toward Russia.
In a separate development from October 2024, it was reported that Moosdorf, who is trained as a cellist, held the honorary position of professor at a Moscow music academy.
