Bavarian intelligence places AfD lawmaker Benjamin Nolte under observation

Benjamin Nolte, deputy faction leader of the AfD in the Bavarian state parliament, has been placed under observation by the Bavarian Verfassungsschutz, becoming the third AfD MP subject to surveillance. The measure was disclosed after the Greens’ parliamentary group asked interior state secretary Sandro Kirchner, who confirmed the decision. Nolte said he was unaware of the step and called it “laughable”. The observation is based on suspicion that he misuses his office to fight the free democratic basic order and on his support for the “remigration” concept promoted by Identitarian activist Martin Sellner, a policy the Federal Constitutional Court has deemed contrary to human dignity. Earlier, AfD legislators René Dierkes and Franz Schmid, as well as the party itself, were already under observation; the Munich Administrative Court upheld the practice in June. Greens faction leader Katharina Schulze welcomed the action, and a further AfD member is reportedly under review.