(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) Journalist Michael Shellenberger revealed in a blog post and accompanying X thread on Friday that Germany was violating the NATO charter by blocking a rigth-wing political candidate over his love of Lord of the Rings.
Imagine a man running for mayor and the local election authorities disqualify him because he praised a “Lord of the Rings” television mini-series, made the “okay” sign with his fingers, and went to a book fair.
That’s what’s happened to Joachim Paul. He was the front-runner in… pic.twitter.com/a7XXOAQmlU
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) August 29, 2025
Joachim Paul, a mayoral candidate in Ludwigshafen, was told he could not run in the Sept. 21 race after the German interior minister declared him to be a threat to the constitution, Shellenberger wrote.
Its evidence was Paul’s praise of an Amazon mini-series inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel in a 2022 review for an Austrian magazine.
“The protagonists in ‘Lord of the Rings’ fight for a cause that is greater than themselves,” he wrote, adding that “the homeland, the continuation of their culture, a just order, the defense against a world danger. They are prepared to risk their lives for it.”
Paul also was accused of flashing the “white power” symbol after using an “OK” hand gesture—echoing a claim previously made against U.S. President Donald Trump.
Paul denied allegations of supporting nationalism—although he is running as candidate on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) ticket, which advocates for “Germany First” policies like deporting immigrants back to their native countries.
“The intent was to draw a picture of me as somebody who is far right,” he said. Neither “[U.S. Vice President] J.D. Vance nor Giorgia Maloni [sic], the president of Italy, couldn’t run for office in Ludwigshafen.”
In February, Vance traded sharp words with Germany about its censorship while attending the Munich Security Conference. Its organizers banned members of populist parties, including the AfD, from attending.
🚨🇩🇪🇺🇸VANCE HUMILIATES THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT 🔥@JDVance shocked the establishment when he accused them of hiding behind defamation campaigns simply because someone might express an ALTERNATIVE viewpoint or even WIN AN ELECTION.
Vance is alluding to the massive AfD success❗️ pic.twitter.com/XFFomhDOyv
— Naomi Seibt (@SeibtNaomi) February 14, 2025
“For many of us on the other side of the Atlantic it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet era words like ‘misinformation’ or ‘disinformation’ who simply don’t like the idea that somebody might express a different opinion—or, God forbid, vote a different way or, even worse, win an election,” Vance said.
In addition to Germany, Shellenberger warned that France was once again attempting to suppress right-wing opposition candidates from its elections.
Conservative populists lead the polls in Europe and so governments are censoring, banning, and prosecuting them. Chancellor @_FriedrichMerz & President @EmmanuelMacron are violating NATO’s charter. Americans should ask why we’re spending billions to defend such totalitarianism. https://t.co/MCaVhYQAmE pic.twitter.com/Wbp9XnxqkG
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) August 31, 2025
The globalist effort to subvert the democratic process by declaring conservative candidates as too dangerous to participate echoes some of the efforts that the radical Left waged on Trump prior to his reelection last November.
Lawfare activists and Democrat officials tried in several states to have him excluded from the ballot by claiming he was an “insurrectionist,” and figures including then-President Joe Biden routinely referred to him as a “Nazi” and a “threat to democracy” while showing little self-awareness.
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
