A police investigation has been launched in connection with a threatening message and a political logo sprayed on a church wall in the Jena district of Drackendorf. The message, which included the initials of a local business leader, Udo Böttcher and the words “Nazi” and “Kill” was discovered on the wall, according to a spokesperson for the Jena police department. The police have taken a report for vandalism and intimidation.
In addition to the apparent message directed at Böttcher, a political logo was also sprayed on the church wall, the police said. The graffiti and logo are expected to be removed by the end of the day, the police spokesperson added.
The police investigation comes as a result of a recent large donation of 999,990 euros to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party by Böttcher, the owner of a office supplies company in Jena-Zöllnitz. Böttcher has since rescinded the donation and is seeking to recover the funds from his former oversight board member, Horst Jan Winter, who made the donation without his knowledge or consent.
The donation was part of a larger sum of 2 million euros that Böttcher had given to Winter to support an experimental medical treatment for a serious illness. Böttcher had made it clear that he would not have approved of the donation to the AfD and Winter should have been aware of this.
The AfD has stated that it will not return the donation, citing that the funds came from Winter’s personal wealth and that the police investigation is not relevant to their review of the donation.