In an unprecedented move the likes of which has not been seen since World War II, Germany has banned Compact Magazine and raided the pu...
In an unprecedented move the likes of which has not been seen since World War II, Germany has banned Compact Magazine and raided the publisher's home in defiance of free speech protections for the press.
More than 200 masked, armed and armored-up law enforcement officers stormed the home of Jürgen Elsässer, who heads up Compact Magazine, as well as the homes of several of his employees and financial backers. During the raid, which commenced at 6:00 am, police officers confiscated hard drives and other assets in order to shut down the magazine's operations.
The private homes of employees living in Brandenburg, Hesse, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, including the home of Elsässer in Falkensee near Berlin, were all raided as part of the sweep, as was the Nöbeditz manor of former AfD politician André Poggenburg in Stößen near Naumburg.
Compact Magazine has a large readership in Germany. Its YouTube channel boasted more than 300,000 subscribers and millions of views as of last count. As of now, however, Compact Magazine's website and social media presence is gone.
Far-left German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser celebrated the raid and shutdown on X, admitting to the world that she ordered it to occur, which many now agree was an unconstitutional move.
"Today, I banned the right-wing extremist 'COMPACT Magazine,'" Faeser wrote. "It agitates in an unspeakable way against Jews, against Muslims and against our democracy. Our ban is a hard blow against the right-wing extremist scene."
Faeser added in a follow-up statement that Germany under her watch "will not allow ethnic definitions of who belongs to Germany and who does not."
"Our constitutional state protects all those who are persecuted because of their faith, their origin, their skin color or their democratic stance," she insists.
Elsässer's video production company Conspect Film GmbH also banned in Germany
To be sure that he does not continue producing media content in other formats, Faeser's raid also included the shutdown of Elsässer's video production company Conspect Film GmbH, which is no longer in operation in Germany.
All of this marks the first time ever in Germany that a media outlet of this size has been targeted in such an extreme and flagrant way.
"The ban on Compact Magazine is a serious blow to press freedom," commented Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla in a joint statement.
"We are watching these events with great concern. Banning a press organ means denying discourse and diversity of opinion. A ban is always the most far-reaching step. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser is abusing her powers to suppress critical reporting. We call on the minister to respect press freedom."
Germany's Welt, a mouthpiece for AfD's rival Christian Democrats political party, claims the raid came about after Compact allegedly violated a constitutional order in a "combative and aggressive manner."
When it was still in operation, Compact branded itself as a "magazine for sovereignty" that "does not prescribe a political line, but rather an attitude: That is walking upright, that is the spirit of freedom and pride in our history."
"Compact presented its readers with doomsday scenarios and racism, conspiracy theories and agitation against politicians from the hated 'old parties' – and as a way out of all this misery: the AfD," Welt argues in favor of the raid and ban.
"Compact specifically addressed right-wing extremists, conspiracy theorists and opponents of democracy with well-known narratives: of the 'lying press' and 'high finance,' of 'corrupt politicians' and 'powerful puppet masters in the background' who were deceiving them."
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