Germany declares AfD 'extremist'; Marco Rubio, JD Vance condemn move

Germany's move to label AfD as an extremist group draws sharp criticism from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who calls it "tyranny in disguise" and urges reversal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Germany's foreign ministry engaged in a war of words after the former termed as "tyranny in disguise" the German government’s decision to designate the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an 'extremist' group.

 

The designation came just months after the AfD finished second in Germany's federal elections held in February.

 

On Friday, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), officially classified the AfD as an extremist organisation. The agency cited a 1,100-page expert report that reportedly found the party to be “racist and anti-Muslim."

 

 

"Central to our assessment is the ethnically and ancestrally defined concept of the people that shapes the AfD, which devalues entire segments of the population in Germany and violates their human dignity," the agency stated.

 

‘Tyranny in disguise’

 

Rubio criticised the BfV’s decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That's not democracy -- it's tyranny in disguise,” he wrote.

 

He also defended the AfD, calling it a “popular” party, and argued that the real extremism lies in “the establishment's deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes.”

 

“Germany should reverse course,” Rubio added.

 

Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise.  What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 2, 2025

 

Germany responds: ‘This is democracy’

 

The German Foreign Office responded directly to Rubio’s remarks, defending the classification as a democratic measure.

 

“This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough and independent investigation to protect our Constitution and the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped,” it posted on X.

 

JD Vance echoes Rubio

 

US Vice-President JD Vance also supported Rubio’s stance. In a post on X, he called the AfD “the most popular party in Germany” and “by far the most representative of East Germany.”

 

“The AfD is the most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it,” Vance wrote.

 

He added, “The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt — not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment.”

 

BfV: AfD ‘xenophobic, anti-minority’

 

In its assessment, the BfV said the AfD seeks to exclude certain population groups from equal rights and promotes discriminatory views.

 

“It aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, subject them to unconstitutional discrimination, and thus assign them a legally devalued status,” the agency said.

 

It added that AfD leaders have continuously spread messages targeting minorities.

 

“This is evident in the numerous xenophobic, anti-minority, anti-Islamic, and anti-Muslim statements continually made by leading party officials,” the agency noted.

 

The BfV also stated that the AfD does not view German citizens with a migration background—particularly from predominantly Muslim countries—as equal members of the German people, as defined by the party’s ethnically based ideology.

 

One of the party's senior leaders, Bjorn Hocke, was previously accused of using banned Nazi slogans at two rallies in 2021.

 

(With agency inputs)