El Hotzo's not-guilty verdict will be rejected by the prosecution.
In a recent court ruling, the Tiergarten district court in Berlin acquitted comedian Sebastian Hotz, also known as El Hotzo, of any wrongdoing related to his satirical comments about the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The controversy arose in mid-July 2024, when Trump was attacked in Pennsylvania. The shooter hit Trump in the right ear, and an attendee lost their life while two others were injured. The perpetrator was subsequently killed by security forces.
Hotz, in a post on the platform X, compared the shots on Trump to the "last bus" and commented: "Unfortunately, narrowly missed." He also stated: "I find it absolutely fantastic when fascists die." These comments sparked a backlash and numerous criminal complaints against him.
Despite the controversy, Judge Andrea Wilms ruled that Hotz's post on the platform X was not suitable for disturbing the public peace, but was "punishable satire." This ruling came after a one-day trial where prosecutors sought a fine and argued for hate crime charges, but the court rejected them.
The public broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) ended its cooperation with Hotz at the youth radio station Fritz as a direct consequence of his controversial comments.
It is worth noting that Hotz has around 740,000 followers on X, and his posts were considered suitable for disturbing the public peace due to their reach. The court, however, deemed that the comments were protected under the banner of satire.
As of early August 2025, the acquittal stands and no further appeal process has been publicly documented. The Public Prosecutor's Office has initially filed an "indeterminate appeal" against the ruling, but no appeal is reported or pending at this time.
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[1] Berliner Morgenpost [2] Tagesspiegel [3] Deutsche Welle [4] RBB
- The Berliner Morgenpost, Tagesspiegel, Deutsche Welle, and RBB reported on the Tiergarten district court's decision to acquit comedian El Hotzo despite the controversy surrounding his satirical comments about the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
- The controversy over El Hotzo's comments about Trump's attempted assassination and his subsequent acquittal in German politics and policy-and-legislation has been a topic of discussion in general-news and crime-and-justice sections of major German news outlets, including the Berliner Morgenpost, Tagesspiegel, Deutsche Welle, and RBB.
