The Alternative for Germany party (AfD), known for its anti-immigration stance, filed a lawsuit on Monday against the national intelligence service after being designated as a far-right extremist organization— a classification that allows authorities to increase surveillance of the party.
The legal action was brought before an administrative court in Cologne, where the headquarters of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution—the official name of the domestic intelligence agency—is located.
The designation enables intelligence officials to deploy informants and use methods such as audio and video recordings to monitor AfD activities nationwide. The agency stated the party poses a threat to the country’s democratic order and “disrespects human dignity,” citing its ongoing agitation against refugees and immigrants, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries.
In response, AfD accused the agency of violating the Constitution and attempting to criminalize legitimate political speech and criticism of Germany’s immigration policy over the past decade. “With this lawsuit, we’re sending a clear signal against the abuse of state power to suppress and exclude the opposition,” party co-leaders Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel said, claiming that the intelligence service was trying to “distort democratic competition and delegitimize millions of votes.”
Founded in 2013, AfD initially focused on opposing financial bailouts within the eurozone. However, its political rise accelerated following then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 decision to admit a large number of refugees into Germany.
The rise of far-right parties across Europe has drawn international attention to AfD, including support from high-profile figures like tech billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump. Several senior Trump administration officials have criticized the German intelligence agency’s decision.
Among them, Senator Marco Rubio called the move “disguised tyranny” and urged Germany to reverse the designation. In a social media post, Germany’s Foreign Ministry responded directly to Rubio, stating, “This is democracy” and defending the decision as the result of a “thorough and independent investigation to protect our Constitution and the rule of law.” The ministry added that “independent courts will have the final say. We’ve learned from our history that far-right extremism must be stopped.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who met with Weidel after the February elections, also weighed in on social media, describing AfD as “by far the most representative party” in the former communist East Germany, and accused bureaucrats of attempting to destroy it.
AfD has long faced criticism for its pro-Russia stance and its opposition to Germany’s support for Ukraine in the ongoing war. Berlin is currently the second-largest supplier of weapons to Ukraine, after the United States.
The lawsuit comes at a key political moment in Germany: on Tuesday, conservative leader Friedrich Merz is set to be sworn in as the new chancellor, following his party’s victory in the February elections. A day earlier, his CDU/CSU bloc and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats formally signed a coalition agreement, paving the way for the country’s fifth so-called “black-red” grand coalition under Merz’s leadership.
