Court clears German comedian 'El Hotzo' over Trump assassination joke

German comedian Sebastian Hotz, who goes by his stage name "El Hotzo," was acquitted by a Berlin court on Wednesday in a case related to his social media posts about last year's assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump, reported dpa.

Judge Andrea Wilms said Hotz's post on X following the attack did not qualify for the charge of disturbing the peace. She said the comments may have been distasteful, but described them as "non-punishable satire."

"People must be able to argue about good and bad opinions," Wilms said.

Hotz compared the shots fired at Trump during an election campaign event in Pennsylvania last July to "the last bus," writing that "unfortunately" both had been "just missed."

In another post, the satirist said: "I think it's absolutely fantastic when fascists die."

While Trump emerged from the gunfire largely unscathed, with the shots hitting only his upper right ear, one person watching the rally was killed and two others seriously injured. The perpetrator was killed by security forces.

Hotz deleted the posts shortly afterwards as a storm of criticism erupted on social media. The regional public broadcaster RBB subsequently ended its collaboration with Hotz on a youth programme.

In his closing statement at the Tiergarten district court, the prosecutor hd demanded that Hotz be given a "mild fine" of €6,000, saying "even satirists are not above the law."

He said the posts should be considered as hate crime and were likely to disturb the peace, not least because of the large audience of 740,000 followers that Hotz has on X.

The prosecutor said such behaviour creates a climate in which attacks on state officials can flourish.

Hotz defended himself, saying that as a satirist he was "a little less serious" than many of his colleagues. When a satirist expresses an opinion, he said, it should be understood as a joke.