District Attorney's Office Rejects Dismissal of Charges Against El Hotzo - El Hotzo's not-guilty verdict is rejected by the prosecution.
Sebastian Hotz, also known as El Hotzo, a comedian and satirist, has been acquitted by a German court in a case that sparked controversy over his social media posts regarding an attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The court ruling, handed down on July 23, 2025, acquitted Hotz of approving the assassination and disturbing the public peace with his satirical posts on the X platform. The court ruled his statements as protected satire, even if tasteless, and decided that such satirical comments would not incite violence.
The case originated from posts made by Hotz about a year ago, in July 2024, when an assassination attempt was made on Trump in Pennsylvania. In his posts, Hotz compared the shots at Trump to the "last bus" and commented that Trump narrowly missed being hit. He also added that he finds it fantastic when fascists die.
The posts were soon deleted by Hotz, but they sparked a storm of criticism in the online media, leading to numerous criminal complaints against him. The Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office even categorized his posts as a form of hate crime.
However, Judge Andrea Wilms, in her verdict, stated that Hotz's post on the X platform was not suitable but was criminally harmless satire, even if the statements were possibly tasteless.
The court's decision received societal backing from the German Journalists’ Association, who criticized the trial as excessive and supported the freedom of satire in this context.
The Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office has filed an appeal against the acquittal of Hotz. The further procedure of the Public Prosecutor's Office depends on the written verdict. As a direct consequence of the case, the public broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) ended its cooperation with Hotz at the youth radio station Fritz.
It is important to note that the perpetrator of the assassination attempt was killed by security forces, and one visitor died, while two others were injured in the incident.
As of late July 2025, no information from the available search results indicates that the prosecution has successfully appealed the acquittal of Sebastian Hotz. The decision at the Tiergarten district court stands, and the case continues to spark debate over the boundaries of free speech and satire.
[1] https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik/justiz/hotz-freigesprochen-in-trump-versuchsmord-fall-103935964 [3] https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/hotz-freigesprochen-in-trump-versuchsmord-fall-103935964 [4] https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/hotz-freigesprochen-in-trump-versuchsmord-fall-103935964
- The court's ruling in the case of comedian Sebastian Hotz, also known as El Hotzo, highlighted the importance of freedom of satire in the realm of general-news and politics, as it acquitted him of approving an assassination and disturbing the public peace, while ruling his statements as protected satire.
- Despite the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office filing an appeal against the acquittal of Hotz, the decision at the Tiergarten district court, which sparked controversy over the boundaries of free speech and satire, is currently still in effect, as no information indicates that the prosecution has successfully appealed it, as of late July 2025.
