Publicly displaying Nazi symbols is punishable in Germany under Section 86a of the Penal Code (StGB). He wore numerous tattoos bearing far-right symbols, some of which have been deemed unconstitutional. However, in Germany “SS symbols are absolutely forbidden—the public knows this.” The defendant had asserted during proceedings that he did not realize the symbols were unconstitutional. The CSD Wetzlar event was last year the first Pride celebration in Germany’s twelfth-largest city in seven years.