Police conducted a search operation at the Villa Adlon in Potsdam, locating controversial influencer Erik Ahrens Brandenburg police confirmed to news portal T-Online that the operation took place at the same location that gained notoriety last year for hosting a meeting involving wealthy business leaders and politicians from the AfD and Werteunion parties The meeting, brought to public attention by a report from the platform Correctiv, subsequently sparked large-scale demonstrations against right-wing extremism and legal disputes between meeting attendees and various media outlets regarding allegations of false reporting
Ahrens, also present at the aforementioned meeting, corroborated the T-Online report via his social media account He stated that the police were seeking him as part of an investigation due to a lack of a registered postal address The investigation concerns a potential disturbance of public order stemming from a tweet which Ahrens claims was intended as an April Fool’s joke He indicated he has now provided authorities with a means of contacting him
Ahrens has publicly described a personal evolution, stating he previously held extremist views but has since rejected them He recently announced his intention to publicly disclose details of the November 2023 Villa Adlon meeting through a sworn affidavit
Previously considered a key figure in the AfD’s early TikTok strategy, Ahrens created videos for Maximilian Krah, the party’s former lead candidate in the European elections He has since disassociated himself from Krah and the AfD