I always think we have hit rock bottom when it comes to German speech crime prosecutions, but then somehow things always manage to get worse.

Today we have news that law enforcement authorities in Braunschweig have issued summary judgement against Tim Heldt, a major German YouTuber who runs the channel KuchenTV. They accuse Heldt of violating section 86a of the German Criminal Code, which is the statute that forbids using the symbols and slogans of “anti-constitutional and terrorist organisations” like the NSDAP. Specifically, some policewoman named Fehrer of the Braunschweig Police believes Heldt “knowingly” said the words “Sieg Heil”1 during a Christmas livestream last December. The fine for this grave act of cryptofascism is €16,000.

The thing is, when we call up the relevant clip from the livestream – which Heldt himself has helpfully posted – we see that the man said no such thing.