Overview
- Welt am Sonntag’s documents indicate that, as opposition leader, Merz pursued hundreds of cases over online insults, with lists numbered up to 4,999 and many filings routed via the firm So Done.
- So Done, co‑founded by FDP lawyer Alexander Brockmeier, reportedly kept about half of recovered payments, contradicting statements that all sums were donated to social projects in the Hochsauerland district.
- At least two complaints led to home searches; a Stuttgart court later declared the search in the “drecks Suffkopf” case unlawful, and a disabled pensioner who wrote “kleiner Nazi” had her phone seized.
- Since taking office, the chancellery says Merz has not personally filed complaints in more than 140 cases flagged by authorities, while not objecting to prosecutions that proceed under §188.
- BKA data show 5,155 §188 reports in the first nine months of 2025, with 92% of ZMI referrals attributed to “Hessen gegen Hetze,” highlighting the scale of centralized reporting.