A politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Bavaria has been criminally charged with a range of allegations including incitement, the use of banned extremist symbols, money laundering and coercion.
Daniel Halemba, 22, was elected to Bavaria's state parliament in 2023. His fellow lawmakers have already lifted his parliamentary immunity to allow the criminal case to move forward.
The national AfD party organization has also initiated expulsion proceedings against Halemba for allegedly violating party rules.
Prosecutors have been investigating Halemba for months. The fraternity to which Halemba belonged at the university in Würzburg, Teutonia Prag, was raided by police in September 2023.
The fraternity has a reputation for far-right politics, and authorities cited suspicions that it was using banned extremist symbols and violating laws against incitement.
In April of this year, the public prosecutor's office also began investigations into suspected money laundering, damage to property and coercion.
Halemba has repeatedly denied the allegations. His lawyer announced on Friday that the public prosecutor's office had already had to drop large parts of the original investigation.
He said his client should also be acquitted of the charges now brought against him.
Halemba announced in December that he would resign from all party offices and suspend his membership of the party until the allegations had been clarified.
In April, he wrote to the AfD's group in the Bavarian parliament that he would refrain from public activities connected to the faction until the criminal case is concluded.