A German doctor who rose to prominence during the Covid period for his criticism of the Covid-response measures has been arrested in Berlin in connection with “insults” of Berlin’s outgoing Mayor Kai Wegner. Paul Brandenburg, who has several social media channels and a podcast, has previously been the target of numerous other German speech-crime investigations and charges. Although a native Berliner, he presently lives in Switzerland. He was arrested at Berlin’s Willy Brandt airport last Wednesday in the company of his 10 year-old child. According to his lawyer Markus Haintz, he was travelling with the child, who still lives in Berlin.
“Insults” are a crime under Section 185 of the German Criminal Code. Under Section 188 of the Criminal Code, Germany’s so-called lèse-majesté law, public officials like Wegner enjoy heightened protection against “insults” as well as against “malicious gossip” and defamation, which is treated as a crime not a tort.
According to Haintz, Brandenburg is being investigated in connection with four charges of simple “insults” of Wegner and two charges of defamation under the lèse-majesté law.
Although German speech crime charges rarely result in arrests, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office told the German alternative media outlet Apollo News that Brandenburg was arrested because he represented a “flight risk”. In addition, the prosecutor’s office noted that defamation under the lèse-majesté law carries a minimum sentence of six months in prison. It also referred to prior convictions. Brandenburg is reported to have ignored prior fines.
All of Brandenburg’s alleged “insults” of Wegner allude in one way or another to the Berlin government’s association with the Berlin-based drag queen and trans-activist who goes by the stage-name Jurassica Parka. Parka’s real name is Mario Olszinski. In September, Olszinski was convicted of the possession of child pornography by the Berlin Regional Court and sentenced to 10 months in prison with probation. He had already been convicted of distributing “child pornographic writings” in 2023.
The investigation that led to Olszinski’s latest conviction was opened following receipt of a tip on Olszinski’s online activities from the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to numerous reports in the German press, the investigation was opened in May 2025. Nonetheless, two months later, on July 14th, none other than ‘Jurassica Parka’ hosted a gala sponsored by none other than the Berlin police! Olszinski’s home was raided by the police that very month, according to some reports before and other reports after the gala.
Be that as it may, the gala was dedicated to raising money for alleged queer victims of ‘hate crimes’, which in Germany may also include ‘hate speech’. The event was titled Gemeinsambunt, which roughly translates as ‘Diversely Together’. The official patron of the event was Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik. Deputy police chief Marco Langner posed with Olszinski. Olszinski wore a miniskirt; Langner a Scottish kilt.
According to Apollo News, Wegner was also present. Wegner is, incidentally, a member of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. One year earlier, according to Apollo News, ‘Jurassica Parka’ hosted another event sponsored by the Berlin government. This one was titled “Queens and Flowers” and included a “Drag-Queen Reading Hour” for children.
