A pensioner has to pay a fine of 2,800 euros for bad, sometimes racist insults in the Facebook group “Verkehrswende Frankfurt” and subsequent threats of violence.
The trigger was the posting of an article in May 2021 that summarized the coalition agreement of the Frankfurt government alliance.
Among other things, it was mentioned that the coalition wanted to create car-free zones in residential areas and block the Mainkai for cars.
The public Facebook group is run by the citizens' initiative "Sachsenhausen defends itself", which is fighting against the closure of the Mainkai.
The author of the post, who is a teacher at a humanistic high school and a doctorate lecturer at Goethe University, had commented on the article with the words that "fans of 20th-century transport policy would now sulk".
The pensioner responded with rude insults, including in connection with the dark skin color and the alleged Indian origin of the teacher.
In private messenger communication and to the teacher's official email address, the pensioner intensified his insults and threatened him with reference to "rockers" in Frankfurt: "We'll get you!!!" Finally he sent another portrait of the teacher with the words: "Your photo for my friends is ready, you green Ra...".
The teacher then filed a complaint with the police, who recognized a death threat in the news and reacted immediately.
This resulted in a penalty order for 80 daily rates of 35 euros.
In addition, the teacher filed a lawsuit for 4,000 euros in damages.
After the pensioner had apologized comprehensively and asked for a waiver of the civil suit, citing his social situation, the teacher agreed to a settlement.
Accordingly, the pensioner must pay 500 euros to the Anne Frank educational institution and bear the plaintiff's legal fees.
Shortly before the dispute in the Facebook group, the law to combat right-wing extremism and hate crime came into force at the beginning of April 2021.
The law is intended to counteract the brutalization of communication in social media.
The networks should report criminal content so that the responsible authorities can prosecute the authors.