US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers criticized German authorities' decision to investigate a pensioner who called German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Pinocchio.
— It's not just Holocaust denial that drives police repression in Germany. This criminal investigation is like a “lese majeste”, she wrote on social network X.
According to her, the majority of Germans do not want the law to be applied this way.
Friedrich Merz, before heading the German government, filed a lawsuit against about five thousand citizens who expressed criticism and insults to him online. This was reported by Welt am Sonntag in December 2025. It was clarified that the police came to search people and seized equipment from some people.
Previously, it was reported that the German Prime Minister is considered “one of the most sensitive politicians” in the country's history. He started filing lawsuits even before being appointed head of the government – in 2021. Among the statements examined were “little Nazis” and “bad drunks”.
