Update (0500ET): Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is focused on Naomi’s case:
Today, I met with and reviewed documentation regarding Naomi Seibt’s asylum case. It is clear that, due to her support for President Trump and her refusal to conform to leftist ideology, she has been targeted and could face imprisonment/physical danger if she returns to Germany—simply for rejecting the groupthink that is currently dominating the country and destroying its economy.
I will be personally assisting with her case and writing to the Secretary of State regarding what she is facing as well as the german government’s prosecution of its own citizens for fighting western ideology and their culture. What is even more alarming is that she was targeted by German intelligence and government officials for advocating on behalf of the German people and supporting the AfD.
The very same German government that claims to fight Nazism is becoming acting like the secret police. If you share a meme, you may go to jail. If you criticize a politician, you could face retribution or imprisonment.
I would hope the Chancellor understands that the entire international community—especially the United States—is watching what is happening in Germany. The German government has a great deal of explaining to do, particularly to its own people.
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As Jonathan Turley detailed earlier, for years, some of us have been writing about the collapse of free speech protections in Europe as the left criminalizes a wide range of expressions and viewpoints.
Now, a leading young German advocate, Naomi Seibt, known as the “Anti-Greta,” is seeking political asylum in the United States after years of Antifa threats. At one time, the idea of someone seeking asylum from a Western democracy would have been considered material for the Onion. Today, it is credible given the rising intolerance for opposing views in countries like Germany.
While we do not know a great deal about the underlying threats, Seibt, 25, recently filed the petition for political asylum, arguing that she is now fearful for her life after a litany of threats from the left. In addition, she recounted how she was informed that German police engaged in years of surveillance of her movements and communications — a complaint made by a wide array of conservatives and others in the country.
I discussed the war on free speech in Germany in my book, “The Indispensable Right.” We recently discussed how the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) is conducting a nationwide search for citizens accused of committing speech crimes. The annual crackdown is part of Germany’s robust censorship and speech criminalization policies. We also discussed how Germany is extending its criminalization of speech to the Internet.
Last year, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was upset that civil libertarians were calling her anti-free speech, so she tried to shut down a publication for a satirical meme.
For this reason, it was fitting that the recent World Forum was held in Berlin. I spoke in Berlin at the World Forum, where European leaders gathered in one of the most strikingly anti-free speech conferences I have attended. This year’s forum embraced the slogan “A New World Order with European Values.”
That “new world order” is based on an aggressive anti-free speech platform that has been enforced for years by the European Union. It is vividly evident in the latest crackdown in Germany.
According to the BKA, there were 10,732 crimes related to online hate speech committed last year—a record number and four times the crimes from 2021. It is an example of the insatiable appetite created by censorship as people seek to silence their critics or those with opposing views.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister, Christian Democrat Herbert Reul seemed to relish the power: “Digital arsonists must not be able to hide behind their phones or computers. Anyone who thinks anything is allowed on social media is seriously mistaken.”
He added that “people have forgotten the difference between hate and opinion.” For those who cannot tell the difference, the solution is just to stay silent or risk a knock on the door. It is the very chilling effect reflected in the recent polling showing that most Germans are now uncomfortable sharing their views in public.
According to a poll of German citizens. Only 18% of Germans feel free to express their opinions in public. 59% of Germans did not even feel free to express themselves in private among friends. And just 17% felt free to express themselves online.
What Seibt is reporting is consistent with what free speech groups told me in Berlin. She stated, “In 2024, I found out that I had been spied on by German intelligence for years. Simultaneously, I keep receiving death threats from Antifa.” She also reported that the German police seemed hostile to her claims of threats and refused to take action.
Her high visibility as the counterfoil to climate crusader Greta Thunberg seemed to fuel the threats.
What is most interesting about this petition is the context of pronounced anti-free-speech policies and laws in Germany. As both Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have addressed in major speeches, Europe is now a threat to free speech, including the rights of American citizens and corporations. Germany and the EU now deny this “indispensable right” to its citizens while seeking to pressure companies like X and Facebook to restore censorship programs.
For the free speech community, we would always prefer that advocates stay and fight in their home countries. However, that is an easy “ask” when you are not being targeted by both the government and groups like Antifa. Unfortunately, many of us in the United States have received similar death threats, and we have seen a rise in political violence, particularly from Antifa. We discussed such an attack just yesterday.
While Democratic leaders like Rep. Dan Goldman (D., N.Y.) have denied the existence of Antifa, members continue to self-identify as well as to be indicted for political violence. In Europe, these “non-existent” groups actually have elected members in the EU and national legislatures.
As the EU and Europe continues to crack down on free speech, these asylum requests could well increase. We are used to people filing asylum petitions to flee religious intolerance. We are now seeking some of the first European fleeing speech discrimination. It is a sad statement about the state of free speech among some of our closest allies. However, as amplified by the remarks by Vance and Rubio, this is a very real threat to those who defy the majority in countries like Germany.
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