The former influencer in the AfD party confirms the 'repatriation' plan.
Former AfD influencer Erik Arens testified under oath that a secret meeting at the Adlon Villa in Potsdam in November 2023 discussed a plan for "repatriation." According to his testimony submitted to the Correctiv investigation platform, the plan was not just political rhetoric but envisioned "ethnic cleansing or expulsion," whether "voluntary or forced."
These statements confirm the validity of what Correctiv revealed in January 2024 about the Potsdam meeting, which brought together right-wing extremists, AfD officials, and conservative figures. The investigation at that time sparked widespread protests across Germany, where the term 'repatriation' was considered a far-right symbol for the forced deportation of people of immigrant backgrounds, even if they were German citizens.
Arens was once a close ally of AfD leaders and played a prominent role in the party's rise on TikTok, before recently announcing his withdrawal from the far-right scene. He previously worked alongside Maximilian Kra and contributed to building a broader international network of extremists, but today he asserts that he has left this field.
In his new testimony, Arens confirmed that the plan was presented at the Potsdam meeting by Martin Sellner, the leading figure in the far-right identity movement. He also revealed that Ulrich Siegmund, the leader of the AfD parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt, announced at the meeting that he would implement the plan if his party came to power. He explained that Siegmund spoke about targeting foreign restaurants to make the lives of migrants unbearable.
After the publication of the first Correctiv investigation, AfD leaders tried to downplay the scandal, claiming that 'repatriation' only means deporting criminal migrants who do not hold German citizenship. However, Arins' testimony, along with Silner's public statements, reveals that the plan is much more extreme. These new facts increase the pressure on AfD as scrutiny of its extremist networks intensifies.