Bjorn Hocke, the 52-year-old leader of the anti-migrant AfD in the eastern state of Thuringia, is accused of invoking the phrase “Alles fur Deutschland” (“Everything for Germany”) – a slogan of the Nazis’ SA stormtroopers.

A leading member of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has gone on trial after being accused of using banned Nazi slogans at two rallies dating back to 2021.

Bjorn Hocke, leader of the regional branch of the anti-migrant AfD in the eastern state of Thuringia, is accused of ending a May 2021 election event in Merseburg by shouting the Socialist Nationalist slogan, “Everything for our homeland, everything for Saxony-Anhalt, everything for Germany,” according to the regional court of Halle.

Prosecutors allege that although he was aware the slogan is banned in Germany, and despite already facing criminal charges related to the first instance, Hocke went on to use it a second time at an AfD event last December. In that incident, he allegedly shouted to the crowd: “Everything for” and incited the audience to reply “Germany”.

Prosecutors also claim that the 52-year-old was aware of the phrase’s origins as the slogan for the Nazi paramilitary wing.

His lawyers have argued that he did not know the words were banned and that Hocke himself said last week in a television debate that he was unaware of the origin of the phrase.

Hocke’s trial opened on Thursday in the eastern city of Halle just months before state elections he hopes to win.

A few dozen protesters gathered outside the courtroom holding placards with the words “Stop the AfD” and “Bjorn Hocke is a Nazi” before he arrived in the courtroom dressed in a dark suit and white shirt.

If convicted, Hocke would face a fine or possibly a prison sentence. His trial is set to continue until at least mid-May.

The former history teacher intends to run as the lead candidate for the AfD in the upcoming state elections in Thuringia in September.

Ahead of his trial, he criticised Germany for “persecuting political opponents and suppressing free speech.” He said on social media platform X that he was being charged with “the crime of using an alleged quote in which I expressed my patriotism ‘incorrectly.’” Hocke’s post was amplified by Elon Musk, the owner of X, who replied: “What did you say?”

The AfD, second in most national polls behind the opposition conservative bloc, has faced growing scrutiny since reports in January that some senior party figures had discussed the deportation of people with non-ethnic German backgrounds at a meeting.

Hans-Christoph Berndt, the head of the AfD in the Brandenburg region, has been branded a right-wing extremist by German intelligence services, which have the party under surveillance.