Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has unilaterally banned the right-wing, pro-Donald J. Trump Compact Magazin, accusing the publication of fostering “hatred” of migrants and ethnic diversity. “The ban shows that we are also taking action against the intellectual arsonists who stir up a climate of hatred and violence against refugees and migrants and want to overcome our democratic state,” Minister Faeser said.
“Our signal is very clear: We will not allow ethnic definitions of who belongs to Germany and who does not,” she added.
Several people associated with the magazine, including publisher Jürgen Elsässer, had their homes raided following the ban on July 16. Police also seized the magazine’s assets.
Compact is well-known for its links to the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which lawmakers in Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, are also trying to get banned. The magazine is also noted for being skeptical of Western involvement in the Ukraine war, blaming NATO expansion for the conflict.
Brandenburg state interior minister Michael Stübgen, a member of the so-called “center-right” Christian Democratic Union (CDU) formerly led by Angela Merkel, has said all of Compact‘s social media channels will be scrubbed from the Internet, with their content deleted and revenue confiscated.
Earlier this year, Minister Faeser, who previously wrote for far-left Antifa publications, announced the government would be banning anyone declared a far-right extremist from owning firearms. The government will also trace people who donate to allegedly far-right individuals and groups.
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