Worldwide Clampdown on Disagreements or Opposition

In a series of events that highlight the complex interplay between global capitalism and authoritarianism, the trial of American author C.J. Hopkins has unfolded in Berlin, Germany.

Hopkins' third volume of essays, "The Rise of The New Normal Reich: Consent Factory Essays, Vol. III (2020-2021)", became an instant Amazon #1 bestseller in Political Science in the USA, Canada, and The Netherlands. However, the book faced controversy in Germany, Austria, and The Netherlands, where it was banned by Amazon in August 2022. The book remained "unavailable to order" from bookstores in Germany, despite being distributed internationally by Ingram Content Group.

The controversy surrounding Hopkins' work escalated when he was charged with incitement to hatred and insults on grounds of race, religion, and gender in August 2022. The charges stemmed from two tweets that were reported to Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office's Central Reporting Center for Criminal Content on the Internet by the Hessen CyberCompetenceCenter. Twitter censored the same tweets on August 30, 2022, claiming they violated German "hate speech" laws.

Hopkins' trial, which received zero coverage in the German mainstream press, was reported by independent German journalists, Epoch Times, and various international media outlets such as Sky News Australia, Racket News, and The Atlantic. Aya Velázquez, Marc Neumann, Ralf Hutter, James Kirchick, and Stefan Millius were among the journalists who covered the trial.

On August 15, 2023, the District Court of Berlin issued an Order of Punishment, sentencing Hopkins to 60 days in jail or a €3,600 fine. Hopkins' attorney appealed the Order of Punishment and requested a trial in September 2023. However, the Superior Court denied Hopkins' attorney's motion to lift the Security Order in July 2024, citing the "overall tense security situation" and the need to protect the Court against "recently introduced wiretapping technology."

In a surprising turn of events, Hopkins was acquitted by the District Court on January 23, 2024. The Berlin District Prosecutor appealed to overturn Hopkins' acquittal and requested a new trial before the Berlin Superior Court (Das Kammergericht Berlin) in May 2024. The trial was scheduled for August 15, but was postponed without explanation in August 2024, setting a new trial date for September 30.

The case of C.J. Hopkins serves as a stark reminder of the global crackdown on dissent and the complex relationship between global capitalism and authoritarian state interests. It underscores the importance of critically examining how capitalism and political power overlap globally to challenge and resist mechanisms of censorship and suppression.

[1] Reporters Without Borders. (2021). World press freedom index 2021. https://rsf.org/en/ranking

[2] European Commission. (2020). Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a framework for the free flow of non-personal data in the European Union. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12622-Digital-Services-Act-DSA

[3] Taibbi, M. (2021). The Twitter files: Inside Elon Musk's crusade to free speech on the internet. St. Martin's Press.

[4] Zhao, Y. (2019). Capitalism with Chinese characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the state. Cambridge University Press.

[5] Committee to Protect Journalists. (2021). Attacks on the press. https://cpj.org/data/attacks/

The trial of American author C.J. Hopkins, charged with incitement to hatred and insults, serves as a stark reminder of the global crackdown on dissent.
The controversy surrounding Hopkins' work, which became an Amazon #1 bestseller, escalated with book bans and Twitter censorship in several countries.
The book, "The Rise of The New Normal Reich", is a collection of essays that critically examines the complex interplay between global capitalism and authoritarianism.
The trial, which was initially ignored by the German mainstream press, was reported by independent journalists and international media outlets.
The case highlights the importance of free speech in the face of censorship and suppression, a topic explored in education-and-self-development books such as "The Twitter Files".
The court's decision to sentence Hopkins to jail or a fine, and the subsequent acquittal and appeals, reflect the complex relationship between politics and law in a capitalistic society.
The interplay between global capitalism and political power is also explored in books like "Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics".
The suppression of free speech and the crackdown on dissent are not limited to individual cases but are part of a larger trend, as evidenced by the Attacks on the Press documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
As technology advances, such as wireless tapping technology, the need for solutions that protect freedom of speech and press becomes increasingly urgent, a topic addressed in science, health-and-wellness, and mental-health discussions, as well as in general-news, crime-and-justice, politics, entertainment, and social-media debates.