What follows is a timeline of events that have transpired since I published The Rise of The New Normal Reich: Consent Factory Essays, Vol. III (2020-2021), over four years ago.
Four years. It’s hard to believe, sometimes, that the German authorities have been at this for four years. And it’s not over yet. I’m scheduled to be sentenced for one of my “crimes” on October 26, and I am under indictment for a new set of charges, namely, publishing and distributing the first edition of the book (which is now out-of-print), and for reporting on my two trials.
I was updating this timeline for the press in advance of the publication of a second edition of the book by Skyhorse Publishing, with a foreword Tucker Carlson, and I thought I would share it with my subscribers and other readers, because, well, if it wasn’t happening to me, I wouldn’t believe it.
I don’t think I need to say too much about it … I think it speaks for itself.
May 4, 2022 — The Rise of The New Normal Reich: Consent Factory Essays, Vol. III (2020-2021) is published. It is an instant Amazon #1 bestseller in Political Science in the USA, Canada, and The Netherlands, and a Barnes & Noble bestseller. The cover art, by Anthony Freda, is an homage to William Shirer’s 1960 classic.
August 24-27, 2022 — Three months later, as the German authorities debate whether to lift the Covid mask mandates, I tweet the following Tweets. (Translation: (1) “The masks are ideological-conformity symbols. That is all they are. That is what they have always been. Stop pretending that they were ever anything else or get used to wearing them.” (2) “The mask always sends a signal.” — Karl Lauterbach, Germany’s Minister of Health, as quoted in Die Welt.)
August 29, 2022 — Amazon/KDP bans The Rise of The New Normal Reich in Germany.
August 30, 2022 — The Hessen CyberCompetenceCenter (“Hessen 3C”) reports the two Tweets to Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office’s Central Reporting Center for Criminal Content on the Internet. (Hessen 3C is “a department within the Cyber and IT Security Administrative Digitalization department in the Hessian Ministry of the Interior,” and an official partner of The National Cyber Response Center (“Cyber-AZ”), “a core element of Germany’s Cyber Security Strategy.”)
August 30, 2022 — Hessen 3C reports the Tweets to Twitter for censoring. Twitter censors the Tweets, claiming they violate German “hate-speech” laws.
August 30, 2022 — Amazon bans the book in Austria and The Netherlands, as well as Germany. The book becomes “unavailable to order” in German bookstores. Amazon applies warning notices to the book in markets where it is not banned (e.g., USA, UK, Canada, etc.), advising readers to visit the CDC, the World Health Organization, etc., “for the latest information on COVID-19 and vaccines.”
August 30, 2022 — Hessen 3C reports the Tweets to Germany’s domestic Intelligence agency, The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Das Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz or “BfV”), one of the “core authorities” of Cyber-AZ. (Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungsschutz (“LfV”) at the state level, the BfV is tasked with “intelligence gathering on efforts against the liberal democratic basic order; counter-intelligence; protective security and counter-sabotage.”)
September 19, 2022 — The Federal Criminal Police Office forwards the case to the Berlin District Prosecutor. An official criminal investigation is launched. (I am not notified of the investigation at this time.)
June 2023 — Nine months later, the Berlin District Prosecutor notifies me that I am under criminal investigation on suspicion of “disseminating propaganda, the contents of which are intended to further the aims of a former National Socialist organization,” a violation of Section 86(a) of the German Criminal Code, punishable by up to three years in prison.
June 2023 — Matt Taibbi reports on the investigation in Racket News.
August 8, 2023 — The Berlin District Prosecutor’s office concludes its 11-month-long criminal investigation of my Tweets.
August 15, 2023 — The District Court of Berlin issues an Order of Punishment. I am sentenced to 60 days in jail or ordered to pay a €3,600 fine.
August 21, 2023 — My attorney appeals the Order of Punishment and requests a trial.
September 2023 — The Berlin District Prosecutor’s office launches a second criminal investigation of me, after I republish the Tweets in a Substack column reviewing the facts of the case. (I am not notified of this second investigation, which is temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the original prosecution. My attorney discovers it in the criminal investigation file after the fact.)
September 2023 — Stefan Millius reports on the prosecution in Weltwoche.
October 2023 — Marc Neumann reports on the prosecution in Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
October 2023 — Matt Taibbi reports on the prosecution in Racket News.
January 2023 — James Kirchick reports on the prosecution in The Atlantic.
January 23, 2024 — I stand trial in Berlin District Court. I am acquitted.
January 2024 — Aya Velázquez, other independent German journalists, and Epoch Times report on the trial. It receives zero coverage in the German mainstream press.
February 26, 2024 — The District Court Judge publishes her written acquittal verdict.
March 23, 2024 — The Berlin District Prosecutor files a notice of intent to appeal the acquittal verdict.
March 2023 — Ralf Hutter reports on the prosecution and the banning of the book in Multipolar, a prominent independent magazine in Germany.
March 27, 2024 — My attorney submits disclosure requests to Hessen 3C, Twitter/X, and Amazon, requesting information regarding the censoring of the Tweets and the banning of the book. (Both X and Amazon refuse to comply. X refers us to the X Help Center, noting that, on X, “people are free to be their true selves.” Amazon responds by sending me a zip file of irrelevant “data sets” and advising that they have thereby met their legal obligation to respond.)
May 3, 2024 — The Berlin District Prosecutor appeals to overturn my acquittal and requests a new trial before the Berlin Superior Court.
May 2024 — Despite repeated reminders, Elon Musk and X continue to ignore my attorney’s disclosure request. Notwithstanding my acquittal, X continues to censor the two Tweets.
May 2024 — Both Der Spiegel and Stern magazine print covers featuring swastikas. Der Spiegel’s cover concept is exactly the same as my book cover concept/Tweets, the only difference being that the Spiegel cover features a swastika covered by the German flag, whereas my book cover and Tweets feature a swastika covered by a medical mask.
June 2024 — In response to my attorney’s disclosure request in March, Hessen 3C denies having instructed Twitter to censor the two Tweets, despite the fact that, on September 1, 2022, in the criminal investigation file, the Federal Criminal Police Office noted, “Hessen 3C has already taken measures to have the Tweets deleted.”
Hessen 3C also denies contacting Amazon regarding the book cover, despite the fact that Amazon banned the book less than 24 hours prior to Hessen 3C’s reporting of the Tweets to the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
July 18, 2024 — The Berlin Superior Court schedules the new trial for August 15, and issues an Order imposing security protocols on the proceedings, i.e., airport-style full-body scanning, no computers, phones, cameras, writing instruments, etc., allowed in the courtroom. Members of the press and the public (and my attorney and I) must surrender all personal items, including jackets, head coverings, etc., and completely their empty pockets before entering the courtroom. Members of the press and public will be limited to 35 and must be seated in the rear six rows of the gallery, so that they can be monitored by security personnel. The Superior Court’s pretext for this Order is that a certain high-security trial sometimes takes place in the same courtroom.
July 22, 2024 — My attorney files a motion objecting to the Court’s Security Order. We are informed that the judge that issued the Security Order has gone on vacation and is unavailable to respond.
July 26, 2024 — The Superior Court denies my attorney’s motion to lift the Security Order, which it explains is required due to the “overall tense security situation” and the need to protect the Court against “recently introduced wiretapping technology.” The trial is set to go ahead on August 15. The Security Order remains in effect.
August 4, 2024 — John Mac Ghlionn reports on the prosecution and the banning of the book in Sky News Australia.
August 9, 2024 — The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (“FIRE”) releases a video feature about the prosecution and the banning of the book.
August 12, 2024 — My attorney files a bias complaint against the judge that issued the Security Order. The complaint is rejected.
August 14, 2024 — Ralf Hutter reports on the prosecution and the banning of the book in Berliner Zeitung, the first mainstream German newspaper to cover my case.
August 14, 2024 — The Superior Court postpones the trial without explanation. A new trial date is set for September 30. The Security Order remains in effect.
September 30, 2024 — The Berlin Superior Court overturns my acquittal and finds me guilty. My case is referred back to Berlin District Court for sentencing.
October 1, 2024 — Independent journalist Aya Velázquez publishes an extensive report on my second trial.
October 1, 2024 — Clivia von Dewitz reports on my second trial in Berliner Zeitung.
October 17, 2024 — Eva Sudholt reports on my second trial in Die Zeit.
October 30, 2024 — Wiebke Ramm reports on my second trial in Der Spiegel.
October 2024 — My attorney files an appeal with Germany’s Constitutional Court, challenging the Berlin Superior Court’s reversal of my acquittal.
November 26, 2025 — A little over one year later, Berlin police raid my apartment, searching for evidence that I published, distributed, and promoted my book, The Rise of The New Normal Reich, and that I am the publisher of my blog, Consent Factory, Inc. My computer is confiscated. The raid is conducted in connection with a new criminal investigation commenced by the Berlin State Prosecutor. (N.B. The fact that I am the author and publisher of the first edition of the book, and the owner of the Consent Factory blog, is public record, Moreover, I stipulated to this in District Court, in the presence of the Berlin State Prosecutor, in January 2024.)
July 2026 — My attorney files a second appeal with Germany’s Constitutional Court, challenging the legality of the raid of my home and the new criminal investigation.
June 22, 2026 — A new indictment is issued by the Berlin State Prosecutor, this time accusing me of publishing, distributing, and promoting my book, The Rise of The New Normal Reich, and of displaying the book in a column reporting on my second trial.
June 8, 2026 — Germany’s Constitutional Court refuses to issue a ruling on my appeal (i.e., the appeal challenging the reversal of my acquittal by the Berlin Superior Court), officially criminalizing the book and its cover artwork.
June 2026 — Following the Constitutional Court’s decision, the first edition of The Rise of The New Normal Reich, self-published under my Consent Factory Publishing imprint, is withdrawn from worldwide distribution. (N.B. The Constitutional Court’s refusal to address the constitutional issues in my case effectively renders publication, distribution, and promotion of the first edition of the book illegal in Germany. I am a legal resident of Germany, and thus, I have no choice but to cease distribution.)
June 2026 — Skyhorse Publishing announces the publication of an updated second edition of The Rise of The New Normal Reich under its Tucker Carlson Books imprint. The US release date is scheduled for October 27, 2026.
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CJ Hopkins
September 19, 2026
Photo credit: AP:Mainz-Kastel/Germany
DISCLAIMER: The preceding essay is entirely the work of our in-house satirist and self-appointed political pundit, CJ Hopkins, and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Consent Factory, Inc., or its staff, or any of its agents, subsidiaries, or assigns. If, for whatever inexplicable reason, you appreciate Mr. Hopkins’ work and would like to support it, please go to his Substack page, or his Patreon page, or send a contribution to his PayPal account, so that maybe he’ll stop coming around our offices trying to hit our employees up for money. Alternatively, you could purchase his satirical dystopian sci-fi novel, Zone 23, or Volumes I, II, III, and IV of his Consent Factory Essays, or any of his subversive stage plays, which won some awards in Great Britain and Australia. If you do not appreciate Mr. Hopkins’ work and would like to write him an abusive or threatening email, feel free to contact him directly.
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