A regional court judge in Stuttgart on Monday proposed throwing out a case against a protestor of coronavirus measures who is accused of having deceived donors of more than €576,000 ($628,000), saying the case’s significance is minimal.
A criminal fraud trial against Michael Ballweg, the founder of Germany’s Querdenken (Lateral Thinking) movement, started on February 2 at the court. He protested pandemic measures and collected the funds from thousands of supporters through public appeals, but the prosecutor says he deceived donors about how the money was used.
The public prosecutor’s office accuses him of using nearly €576,000 for private purposes. It acknowledged documented and verifiable expenses for the Querdenken movement of around €843,000.
Ballweg has denied wrongdoing.
The court, defence and public prosecutor’s office had discussed the status of the case in a closed session last week.
Ballweg was taken into pre-trial detention in June 2022, as authorities considered him a flight risk. His supporters had repeatedly demonstrated outside the prison. He was released from prison in April 2023.
Germany’s Lateral Thinking movement launched in Stuttgart during the coronavirus pandemic but spread to many cities across the country. Supporters repeatedly staged protests against lockdown measures, vaccine requirements and other aspects of the government response.
There were also incidents where police officers and journalists were attacked.
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