Overview

• The AfD parliamentary group in Hamburg removed the 41-year-old from its ranks effective immediately, citing an undisclosed Russia trip.
• The state executive initiated a formal party expulsion case after deeming the event’s orientation antidemocratic and incompatible with party principles.
• Photos, videos and an RFE/RL facial-recognition analysis reported a match above 99 percent showing Risch at the Sept. 12 Mariinsky Palace gathering billed as an International Anti‑Globalists League launch.
• Risch said the visit was private, claimed he did not know the program or participants, and said he used an unexpected speaking slot to call for peace in Europe.
• Hamburg’s SPD, CDU, Greens and Left demanded his resignation, with Greens urging the Verfassungsschutz to weigh the findings in its AfD assessment, and the party case could take months.