Far-right group Junge Tat faces trial over racist and homophobic actions

On the steps of Zurich District Court, one of Junge Tat’s leaders spoke about whether Switzerland still protected freedom of expression. Inside the courtroom, he and the five other defendants stopped answering questions.

The five men and one woman repeatedly replied “No statement” when the judge asked about foreign convictions, participation in demonstrations and the use of firecrackers. They are accused of several actions carried out between 2022 and 2024, including climbing a construction crane, setting off pyrotechnics and clashing with left-wing extremists.

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If freedom of speech dies in Switzerland, where does that leave us?

In June 2022, masked far-right activists interrupted a Zurich Pride service at the Church of St. Peter and Paul. They entered through a side door carrying a white wooden cross marked “No Pride Month,” disrupting a service held under the theme “Celebrating Diversity.”

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Never would I have thought that I, of all people, would become a target of neo-Nazis.

In October of the same year, members entered a children’s drag reading event at Tanzhaus, secretly recorded it and tried to unfurl a banner. Outside, masked activists lit torches and displayed a banner against “gender ideology.” The incident frightened people attending the reading. Organizer Brandy Butler said she never expected to become a target of neo-Nazis and called the drag story time “the cutest shit ever.”

The trial could bring the two leaders their first prison terms. The prosecutor is seeking 15 months for each, with six months to be served, as well as fines calculated at 100 daily rates of 140 francs for one defendant and 90 francs for the other. The prosecutor has argued that freedom of expression does not provide immunity for such conduct.

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Drag Story Time is not a scandal, it is the cutest shit ever!