Protestors hold banners reading 'Bjoern Hoecke is a nazi' outside the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (Fabrizio Bensch/Pool via AP)
Protestors hold a banner reading 'Bjoern Hoecke is a nazi' outside the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (Fabrizio Bensch/Pool via AP)
FILE - Far-right politician Bjoern Hoecke, Thuringia's AfD parliamentary group leader, speaks at the special plenary session of the Thuringia state parliament in Erfurt, Germany, Jan. 20, 2021. One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party is going on trial Thursday on charges of twice using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state’s governor. Bjoern Hoecke is the leader of the regional branch of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in the eastern state of Thuringia. (Michael Reichel/dpa via AP, File)
FILE - Bjoern Hoecke attends a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019 one day after the state elections in the German state of Thuringia. One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party is going on trial Thursday on charges of twice using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state’s governor. Bjoern Hoecke is the leader of the regional branch of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in the eastern state of Thuringia. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
German far-right politician of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Bjoern Hoecke, centre left, enters the courtroom for his trial in the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (Fabrizio Bensch/Pool via AP)
Protestors hold banners reading 'Bjoern Hoecke is a nazi' outside the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (Fabrizio Bensch/Pool via AP)
Police officers guard during a protest against German far-right politician of the Alternative for Germany Bjoern Hoecke, outside the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (Fabrizio Bensch/Pool via AP)
FILE - A carnival float, depicting far-right AfD politician Bjoern Hoecke, whose arm is raised by CDU and FDP politicians at the Thuringia elections, takes part the traditional carnival parade in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party is going on trial Thursday on charges of twice using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state’s governor. Bjoern Hoecke is the leader of the regional branch of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in the eastern state of Thuringia. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Protestors hold banners reading 'Bjoern Hoecke is a nazi' outside the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (Fabrizio Bensch/Pool via AP)
FILE - In this Wednesday, May 18, 2016 photo head of AfD in Thuringia, Bjoern Hoecke, smiles during a rally of the Alternative for Germany, AfD, party in Erfurt, eastern Germany. One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party is going on trial Thursday on charges of twice using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state’s governor. Bjoern Hoecke is the leader of the regional branch of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in the eastern state of Thuringia. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, File)
Protestors hold a poster reading 'Bjoern Hoecke is a nazi' outside the state court in Halle, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, Pool)
German far-right politician of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Bjoern Hoecke, centre, attends his trial in the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (Fabrizio Bensch/Pool via AP)
A protestor holds a poster reading 'No power for the new Nazis! ' outside the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, Pool)
Protestor hold posters reading 'Bjoern Hoecke is a Nazi' outside the state court in Halle, Germany, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Bjoern Hoecke, goes on trial at the state court in Halle on charges related to his alleged use in a 2021 speech of a slogan used by the Nazis' SA stormtroopers. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, Pool)