BERLIN (AP) — The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party on Monday sued the domestic intelligence service for classifying it as a right-wing extremist organization in a move that subjects it to greater surveillance from authorities.
The party, known as AfD, which placed second in national elections in February, took legal action at an administrative court in the western city of Cologne where the domestic intelligence service has its headquarters, Daniel Tapp, a spokesman for party leader Alice Weidel, said.
A court spokesperson confirmed that the party filed a suit and an urgent motion, according to the DPA news agency. AfD has rejected the classification and called it unlawful.
The move by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution — the formal name of the domestic intelligence service — means its officials can now use informants and other tools such as audio and video recordings to monitor the party’s activities nationwide.
The office warned of a threat to the country’s democratic order, saying the anti-immigration party “disregards human dignity,” in particular by what it called “ongoing agitation” against refugees and migrants.
Far-right parties have been gaining ground across Europe and the AfD attracts international attention, including support from tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Some top Trump administration officials have criticized the decision, prompting a retort from the German Foreign Ministry.
In a social media post on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Germany to undo the classification, saying the move to give new powers to the spy agency to surveil the opposition amounted to “tyranny in disguise.”
In its own social media post responding directly to Rubio, the Foreign Ministry wrote “this is democracy” and said the decision was “the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law.”
The ministry added that “independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”
Vice President JD Vance, who met with Weidel after the elections in February, wrote on social media that AfD was “by far the most representative” party in formerly Communist eastern Germany, adding: “Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it.”
AfD has long faced criticism for Russia-friendly positions, and opposes Germany’s stance toward the war in Ukraine. Berlin is Ukraine’s second-biggest weapons supplier after the United States.
The lawsuit comes just a day before conservative leader Friedrich Merz, whose party won the February elections, was set to be chosen as Germany’s chancellor, replacing Olaf Scholz.
