"Commander" has thousands of followers on Telegram. He regularly calls for the killing of people there: "Death by hanging" or "Death by shooting" - these are the "judgments" of the self-appointed commander. In court, an expert is now to assess the mental health of the 55-year-old.
He does not recognize the Federal Republic - the accused left no doubt about that at the start of the trial before the Oldenburg district court. "They are taking action here against the US Army, against America," said the 55-year-old to the presiding judge. "I'm a soldier, I'm a major." He pronounced the claimed rank in American.
The German presented himself confidently and proudly in front of the court. As "commander" of the alleged government institution SHAEF, he is said to have published "death sentences" against numerous people between April and November 2021, as the prosecutor said. The abbreviation SHAEF stands for the former headquarters of the Allied Forces in Northwest and Central Europe - the institution was dissolved after the end of the Second World War. "Death by hanging", "death by shooting" or "death by lethal injection" were the words in the messages, mostly in English, which the court read and showed.
According to the indictment, the man is said to have shared the "judgments" with thousands of followers via various channels. In many of the posts and documents shown before the district court, photos and contact details of those affected could be seen. In addition to politicians, the self-appointed commander "condemned" business people, police officers, his landlord, who had fired him, as well as doctors and managers of institutions that advocated corona vaccinations. He accused them of genocide, high treason and spreading lies in a world war. In some cases, the "judgments" included their family members. "Children under the age of 14 will be deported," said a post read by a judge.
The court also played voice messages in which the accused's distinctive voice was clearly recognizable. In a message, the defendant recommended another man to go to a mayor with a small group and "hang him by the nearest lamppost." The group should proceed slowly so that the politician suffers for a long time. The public prosecutor sees this news as incitement to manslaughter.
The defendant carefully followed the presentation of the evidence. He pointed out to the presiding judge: "It was a military account, that's very important." Various documents read in court gave an idea of how the defendant understood SHAEF and his position. "We are SHAEF, the largest military association on earth," the defendant said in a letter. The man also spoke of the fact that there was a civil war in Germany. "We sort out," it said elsewhere. "Many will die." According to an IT expert from the public prosecutor's office, who was called as a witness, the accused's messages had consequences. Many followers of the self-proclaimed commander wrote to the "convicts" and threatened them. Fortunately, no "judgment" was enforced.
The statements made by the accused are close to the ideas of so-called Reich citizens. They too deny the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany and do not recognize its legal system. According to the report for the protection of the constitution for 2021 presented in June of this year, the number of "Reich citizens" has grown - from around 20,000 to 21,000 followers.
A psychiatric expert has been summoned to the trial of the self-proclaimed SHAEF commander. He is scheduled to comment on the accused on September 1st. After the report, the pleadings could be held, said the presiding judge at the end of the first day of the hearing. According to him, it is possible that the court will order the accused to be placed in a psychiatric ward.
