House Search at Munich AfD Politician Rene Dierkes’ Home and Office
Munich, March 14, 2026 – Police on Friday morning conducted searches at the private residence and office of Rene Dierkes, a state parliament member for the AfD (Alternative for Germany) party in Munich. The politician is currently under investigation for several alleged offenses.
A spokesperson for the Munich I Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that an investigation has been launched against Dierkes “on suspicion of defamation, insult, incitement of the people, and endorsement of criminal offenses.”
Allegations Stem from Older Social Media Posts
Dierkes, who has been a member of the state parliament since 2023, issued a statement regarding the searches. He attributed the investigation to “approximately two-year-old postings on my X-account, which were authored by an employee who is no longer working for me.” Dierkes described these posts as “memes and satirical comments,” claiming they are being used as a “pretext” to accuse him of criminal acts. Neither Dierkes nor the public prosecutor’s office has disclosed the exact content of these posts.
It is important to note that the presumption of innocence applies to the AfD politician.
Further Accusations and Prior Legal Issues
Dierkes further stated that a former party member has accused him of an insult dating back five years, which he characterizes as a “smear campaign.”
Dierkes, a lawyer by profession, has been the chairman of the AfD Munich-East district association since January 2022 and is considered a representative of the party’s far-right faction. In May 2025, it became known that the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution was monitoring the AfD politician. At that time, Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) stated that Dierkes had “propagated an ethnic concept of the people directed against human dignity and, in an equally unconstitutional manner, called for ‘remigration’ of individuals.”
Additionally, Herrmann claimed that “repeated, blanket defamations of migrants and individuals with a migration background as criminals and perpetrators of violence, which violate human dignity, were observed.” Dierkes’ statements also played a role in the court proceedings regarding the Bavarian AfD’s classification as a suspected case of right-wing extremism by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
In January 2025, the Munich II Regional Court sentenced Dierkes to a fine of 3,600 euros in the second instance for a violation of the Assembly Act. This was due to his possession of pepper spray at an election campaign event for Green politician Claudia Roth. Dierkes had announced at the time that he would appeal the decision. The judgment became legally binding on July 2, 2025.
Broader Context: AfD and Controversies in Munich
This incident comes in the broader context of various controversies surrounding the AfD in Munich. Earlier, an AfD candidate for the Munich City Council was removed from the list after it was revealed that he had been convicted of murder in 2005 for strangling his elderly neighbor.
The ongoing investigation into Rene Dierkes and the previous incidents highlight the scrutiny faced by the AfD and its members in Bavaria.
The public prosecutor’s office has not yet provided a timeline for the conclusion of the investigation.
Source: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/muenchen-afd-hausdurchsuchung-rene-dierkes-li.3452457
