Stephan Bothe

In 2024, Bothe attracted nationwide attention by demanding the disclosure of the first names of German nationals involved in assaults on emergency personnel during New Year’s Eve 2022/2023, in order to reveal their alleged migration background. However, the Lower Saxony State Court rejected Bothe’s lawsuit, stating that such disclosure could violate the legitimate interests of third parties.^[6]

In 2025, Stephan Bothe filed a lawsuit against the Oldenburg Police Directorate and achieved partial success before the Administrative Court. The court ruled that then police president Johann Kühme had violated the principles of neutrality and objectivity with certain statements about the AfD. Other statements by Kühme, however, were deemed permissible.^[7]

In 2019, the public prosecutor’s office in Lüneburg investigated Bothe on suspicion of publicly using symbols of unconstitutional organizations. He was accused of being responsible for the so-called Abschiebär appearing on a Twitter account of the AfD district association of Lüneburg. The Abschiebär is a figure from propaganda videos of the far-right extremist group Besseres Hannover, which has been banned since 2012.^[8] In the same year, the investigation against Bothe was dropped.^[9]

In 2021, Stephan Bothe was accused of attempting to revive the far-right Flügel faction of the AfD in Lower Saxony. The AfD federal executive board subsequently filed for party expulsion proceedings against him; Bothe himself called the allegations baseless.^[10] Bothe participated in an AfD meeting in February, during which a secret reconstruction of Flügel structures bypassing the district associations was allegedly discussed.^[11] Bothe questioned the recorded audio document as evidence.^[11]

In 2021, the ban on holding office imposed on Bothe by the party was lifted again for formal reasons.^[12] A party expulsion procedure against Bothe failed.