Germany police shut down public reading by far-right author News
Martin Sellner, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Germany police shut down public reading by far-right author

Police in the German region of Baden-Württemberg announced that they had shut down a public reading by far-right author Martin Sellner on Saturday, local media reported. The police said that Sellner had received a temporary ban from Neulingen, a municipality in the area. The prohibition was based on the Baden-Württemberg Police Act, which allows for an entry ban to the area if there is a reasonable belief that the concerned person will commit or contribute to the commission of a crime.

Sellner is considered to be a prominent figure in the far-right Identitarian movement in Germany. He was previously alleged to have spoken at a meeting of far right-wing supporters in Potsdam, by investigative outlet Correctiv, where he supported mass “remigration” of “non-assimilated” Germans, including asylum-seekers and immigrants. The city of Potsdam issued an entry ban against the Austrian author in March, however, he successfully challenged the ban in the Potsdam Administrative Court, receiving a suspension on the ban which was not challenged by the Potsdam authorities.

As reported by Der Speigel, the federal police also began investigation into Sellner and potentially issued a secret wanted notice, which could result in a potential entry ban from Germany. He has previously also been prevented from entering the USA.

The public reading of the book “Remigration”, which is also the name of the idealogy espoused by Sellner, was protested by 70 demonstrators in the area, with the demonstration being planned before Sellner’s arrival. Sellner confirmed being made to leave in a post shared to X.

Sellner has previously been prevented from speaking at an event in Switzerland. He is also under investigation by the Saarland police for possibly banned Hitler salute. As a supporter of AfD, a party with a controversial anti-immigration stance, Sellner has supported making “remigration” a major part of the political agenda. The party itself may possibly face a ban in Germany.

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