I was quoted by the American news outlet CNS News on the topic of Nazi protests in Chemnitz, Germany. You can read the full article here.
Bill Wirtz of Young Voices, a nonprofit public relations organization, cautioned that putting the AfD under surveillance sends the wrong message.
“The implication that they endanger the German constitution will only embolden their supporters in the belief that they are being unjustly persecuted,” he said.
“If liberal democracy wants to survive, it needs to use the tools that it purports to defend: free speech, open dialogue, and the rule of law,” he said. Wirtz recalled the authorities’ attempt to deal a spate of sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve 2015 by downplaying the attacks – which were largely blamed on foreigners.