AfD officials in Germany confront assault charges and internal party disputes

German prosecutors have charged two men, including SPD politician Lukas Gottschalk, with aggravated assault after surveillance footage captured them attacking AfD councillor Norbert Raatz in a Cologne pub in December 2024. Raatz suffered bruising and a mild concussion; Gottschalk resigned from his SPD leadership roles.

In Bonn, AfD district chairman Gerald Elmar Christ was convicted in June 2025 of insulting a man during a 2024 altercation and ordered to pay 40 daily fines. Around the same period, members of the far‑right Identitäre Bewegung briefly occupied the Hermannsdenkmal near Detmold to protest a proposed wind‑park, leading to police arrests and investigations for trespass and incitement. The party also debated reforms to its "Unvereinbarkeitsliste" (incompatibility list) ahead of a July party conference in Erfurt, reflecting internal tensions over membership criteria and extremist factions.