An appeal court in Berlin has upheld the acquittal of Sebastian Hotz, a German leftist comedian who had been charged with “condoning criminal offences” after he made a series of posts on X celebrating the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in July 2024.
In the afternoon of March 27, the Berlin Chamber Court, the city’s highest court, announced its decision on the appeal launched by the state prosecutor’s office against an earlier acquittal of Hotz – who goes by the moniker of El Hotzo – by a local court in July 2025.
Court spokesman Moritz Lehmann said: “The Chamber Court has upheld the acquittal in its ruling today. The local court’s view that the social media posts constituted satire not intended to be taken seriously was free from legal error.
“Furthermore, the local court’s assessment that the posts, given their satirical nature, were not capable of disturbing the public order, is not to be criticised from a legal perspective.”
Hotz was thus acquitted of all charges launched against him by the prosecution after his controversial posts.
Hotz told German media he was relieved that the court proceedings were over.
Before the proceedings, the comedian had told news agency dpa that his trial could set a dangerous precedent for satirist in Germany: “If I am convicted, satirists must expect that every joke and every post could have legal consequences, provided it is deliberately misinterpreted by enough people. That is a world I would not want to live in.”
The verdict ends a legal battle spanning a year and a half.
Hotz had been charged with “condoning criminal offences” – a crime punishable by up to three years in prison in Germany – after he made several “humorous” posts on X about the assassination attempt on then-US presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 13, 2024.
Mere hours after the attempted assassination, Hotz – who has around 740,000 followers on X – wrote: “What do the last bus and Donald Trump have in common? Unfortunately just missed.”
After users reacted negatively to the tasteless joke, Hotz added in a separate post: “I find it absolutely fantastic when fascists die.”
The prosecution had demanded a fine of €6,000, arguing that Hotz “created a psychological climate in society in which similar attacks on government officials or heads of state can flourish nationwide”.
Hotz is known for his blunt jokes which often target supposed “fascists” and “right-wing extremists”. In December 2025, for example, he posted a picture of two portions of fries – one adorned by a tiny speck of ketchup, the other slathered in it – calling them “Trump style” and “Kirk style” in reference to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September 2025.
The post earned Hotz more than 3,600 likes.
wie esst ihr Ketchup zu euren Pommes?
Trump-Style Kirk-Style pic.twitter.com/TI0SRzN50g
— E L H O T Z O (@elhotzo) December 16, 2025
