AfD’s New State Lawmakers: Ex-Stasi Officer, Neo-Nazi Suspects, and a Forger

The AfD will enter the Magdeburg state parliament with 39 lawmakers, including a former Stasi officer, alleged neo-Nazi networkers, and a convicted document forger, following a record election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. Frank-Ronald Bischoff, a former Stasi officer who handled East German exit applications, won a direct mandate in Wernigerode despite calls to withdraw. Simon Lansmann and Sebastian Koch face allegations linked to the banned far-right group "Artgemeinschaft," with Lansmann's property searched over a summer solstice event. Phillipp-Anders Rau, elected with 48.1 percent of votes, was convicted of forging his high school diploma to secure university admission, received probation for the crime, and admitted past cocaine addiction. CDU politician Dennis Radtke commented on the new lawmakers: "From brown to criminal, everything is included."