Thought Crimes, Cults, and Propaganda: The System’s Evolution Into Nazi Totalitarianism
In a Nutshell
C.J. Hopkins was arrested and convicted in Germany for posting tweets and publishing a book that compared COVID-19 mask mandates and vaccine segregation to Nazi-era authoritarianism. German authorities banned his book, raided his home, and charged him with disseminating Nazi propaganda for using a mask-covered swastika on his cover, despite his explicit anti-Nazi stance. His case exemplifies how Western governments now criminalize dissent by treating any challenge to official narratives as extremism, while maintaining democratic pretense through selective legal persecution.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Book banning and burning defined totalitarian regimes in the 1930s. This practice occurs more frequently now than in the 1930s. C.J. Hopkins's book became a bestseller before being banned by the government for describing what happened to once-free Western societies.
Western freedom is a false appearance of true freedom. People have the freedom to watch Netflix, smoke marijuana, browse bad news, order food from DoorDash, and live alone accumulating credit card debt in apartments they do not own. Crossing the line by noticing what is happening causes freedom to evaporate, potentially resulting in handcuffs.
In 2020, people who challenged the official narrative and refused to comply were censored, treated as a despised minority, ostracized, and punished. C.J. Hopkins documented this in essays collected in "The Rise of the New Reich." The book was removed from Amazon and banned in several European countries. Authorities conceal truth when their power is threatened.
C.J. Hopkins started in Miami, settled in New York as a playwright and prominent left figure, then settled in Berlin. He lived in Europe for about 25 years since the Iraq War. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was arrested by German anti-racism authorities despite not being racist.
Life was going well until COVID-19 measures were implemented in March and April of 2020. Hopkins had been writing satirical articles for about four years covering the first Trump administration and the ruling establishment's reaction. When COVID-19 measures began, he initially did not take them seriously and wrote humorous articles, thinking it was an exaggerated reaction.
One of the first things Hopkins did was compile a series of 257 tweets on Twitter collecting news and headlines from mainstream media when authorities launched what he calls the "new normal." Many people believe he made up the phrase, but authorities issued it. The topic still exists for people to investigate.
By the end of April 2020, Hopkins was extremely worried about what was happening. The regime was tyrannical, and its tyranny was immediate. People around him were worried about what they were told was a catastrophic epidemic. The World Health Organization issued a statement saying the death rate from this virus was 3.4%, a scary number intended to terrify people.
Hopkins was not terrified because he was following the data and figures being released and paying attention to the propaganda. When messages appeared, he examined whether they aligned with what was known about the alleged new virus, and they did not make sense.
Hopkins started publicly stating in his articles and on Twitter that the narrative was illogical. One of his writing students got angry on social media, pointing out people questioning and criticizing the narrative, calling them Nazis and neo-Nazis. When Hopkins confronted her, she immediately responded by calling him anti-Semitic and a right-wing extremist.
Hopkins was not a right-wing extremist. This pattern happened on a wider scale in society simultaneously with official propaganda dissemination. The narrative promoted that anyone questioning official propaganda was some kind of right-wing extremist. Respectable, qualified people like doctors and Jay Bhattacharya challenged official propaganda and were delegitimized, demonized, and in some cases censored.
Hopkins's experience was strange. He and those who criticized or questioned the narrative felt as if they were suddenly in a cult surrounded by followers pressuring conformity to the official narrative. He wrote an article that received significant attention in a book entitled "The Cult of Cavedians."
Hopkins recalled entering a large gathering in Florida connected to someone named Maharishi and having to flee the room because of the negative energy. He explained the reality created by people believing the little man on the stage is God. The energy was extremely exhausting and dark. Authoritarian power involves dark energy.
There is physical reality and material reality, then there is a reality representing collective and societal consensus. When joining a cult, there is a separate reality no longer compatible with the reality taken for granted. This reality can be felt through faith. In early days of the COVID period, Hopkins was very aware of this. Everyone was walking around wearing medical masks, adhering to social distancing. As someone who did not believe the official narrative, he felt surrounded by cult members performing ritualistic behaviors that made no sense except in their imaginary reality.
Hopkins was asked why he noticed what others did not. He has never had much respect for authority and grew up in a period where questioning authority and challenging it was encouraged. It became second nature. He has a natural aversion when seeing herd mentality forming because he knows someone is being brutally beaten in the crowd.
Ironically, in all his legal cases, Hopkins spent his life writing anti-tyranny literature and believes he is very sensitive to the formation of fascist or quasi-fascist social bodies. It is surprising he was in Berlin specifically when this happened.
The measures were implemented quickly. The German government passed a law called the "Infection Control Act," essentially a new enabling law. People recall the Enabling Act of 1933, which was a big part of how the Nazis seized power. They passed legislation declaring a state of emergency, with communists in the streets and society falling apart, needing emergency legislation to suspend the constitution and rule by decrees.
In 2020, the German Federal Party passed legislation stipulating a state of emergency due to a virus attacking society, suspending the constitution and ruling by decree. This led to widespread protests. Berlin witnessed a massive protest in August 2020. Bobby Kennedy was there and gave a resounding speech. Kennedy was immediately attacked with accusations of anti-Semitism. Some remember the storming of the Reichstag building.
The storming of the Reichstag building was actually a rehearsal for what happened on January 6th. The main protest was on July 17th Street in Berlin, running from the Brandenburg Tower to Szegas and up to the Victory Tower. A separate protest occurred in front of the Reichstag building, permitted by German authorities to a former member of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), the now-banned neo-Nazi party. German police retreated hundreds of meters behind the demonstrators and left the Reich unguarded.
The main German media outlets were there. As people rushed up the stairs, the entire news report was about "these crazy Covid deniers attacking the Reich in an attempt to overthrow it." Since it is all about World War II, many people realize this is not the first totalitarian movement to use attacks on the Reichswehr to seize power.
The new law was the most terrifying and painful thing Hopkins ever experienced. Berlin turned overnight into a miserable fascist society where everybody was wearing a mask everywhere, following social distancing instructions mechanically. Police were guarding open-air markets to make sure nobody went in without a mask.
Hopkins was kicked out of a grocery store for protesting about masks. He made a mask out of a paper bag, cut out two eye holes and a small opening for his mouth, and wrote the protest slogan "befail is beail" - a German phrase meaning "orders are orders," the famous Nuremberg Defense. Clerks said he could not do that and had to wear a mask. Hopkins replied his mask was just as good as theirs. They called the police, and two or three armed cops pulled him out of the grocery store.
Hopkins spent most of his life writing quirky plays, then wrote a novel and started writing political satire in 2016. He became interested in the populist rise resisting the global order lived under since the end of the Cold War. He watched for four years from 2016 to 2020 as the system responded to the populist uprising, trying to suppress it and discredit everyone involved.
The term "lockdown" comes from prisons. When prisoners riot or rebel, authorities lock everyone up. The point is to remind them they are in prison. The message was that democratic rights can be taken away in a heartbeat if people cross the line by doing things like leaving the European Union or electing Donald Trump president.
If running a federal government with millions of employees and wanting to get rid of anyone who might cause problems or thinks independently, requiring a COVID-19 vaccine that does not actually protect against the virus is an easy way to identify them. Anyone who refuses gets immediately eliminated. It is a perfect purge.
In Germany, COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out with a social distancing system based on vaccination obligation. They called it the "lockdown" of the unvaccinated at the end of the COVID-19 period. The only place unvaccinated people were allowed to go was the grocery store to buy food while wearing a mask. Vaccinated people could go to restaurants, cinemas, museums, and public places. Unvaccinated people could not enter any public building or shops and were completely cut off from society.
Cafes had big signs asking people to show either proof of vaccination or proof of recent recovery from the virus. People had to show their papers everywhere. A system of social segregation based on vaccination statistics was literally implemented. Hopkins is not a fan of Nazi analogies but found the comparison unavoidable living in Berlin with a fake attack on the Reich, suspended civil liberties, required papers, people wearing badges on their faces, and a small group of non-compliant people isolated from public life.
One reason Hopkins was in Berlin was because he thought, given German history with the Nazis and then the GDR, this would be the last place that would ever cozy up to any kind of fascism or totalitarianism. Growing up involves discovering you are an idiot.
The Germans have a well-deserved reputation for efficiency and taking a systematic approach to everything. This is great when making Audis, but not when trying to destroy the lives of a hated minority.
The speaker began writing humorous articles in March 2020, then shifted to serious writing by April 2020. The analysis addressed not just the COVID-19 pandemic but also the previous four years. The COVID period was viewed as a lockdown period that reminded everyone their rights could be taken away in an instant.
Homeownership remains at the heart of the American Dream as the asset families work their whole lives to build. Too many homeowners are stuck using credit cards for groceries and paying 20% interest or more. The question becomes who to borrow from, with the recommendation to keep money in the family rather than giving it to big banks. American Financing helps homeowners tap into property rights and provides an average of $800 per month, roughly $10,000 per year.
The second edition of the book was published in May 2022. Real problems began in August 2022. Germans were debating whether to stop requiring masks, but most said they must continue wearing masks forever.
Two tweets were posted using the book cover. The first tweet, written in German, stated: "Look, these masks are nothing but symbols of ideological conformity, and that's all there is to it. Accept this reality, or get used to wearing them forever." The second tweet quoted German Health Minister Karl Alterbach, who said face masks send a certain signal. The response was: "Yes, Carl, that's absolutely right. Its purpose is to send a signal. It's like a theater."
The cover was inspired by William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," which has a black cover with the title in red and a small white circle containing a swastika. The creative cover artist Anthony Frieda agreed to steal Shirer's cover design and place a COVID-19 protective mask over the swastika.
Twitter deleted the tweets in Germany for violating hate speech laws. Amazon then removed the book from distribution and prevented its sale in Germany. The speaker wrote to Amazon citing the law, explaining there is no blanket ban on Nazi symbols in Germany. Exceptions exist for teaching history classes, showing films, or producing works of art.
The German surveillance network found the tweets, contacted Twitter and Amazon to ban the book and censor the tweets, and contacted the German Federal Intelligence Service. The Federal Intelligence Service referred the case to the public prosecutor in Berlin.
The public prosecutor began a criminal investigation against the speaker for disseminating Nazi or pro-Nazi propaganda. The speaker responded that this was a mistake because the analysis was actually against the Nazis.
The speaker hired a German lawyer and suggested writing to the authorities to clarify the anti-Nazi position. Instead, a punishment order arrived with a conviction and sentence of prison days or a 3600 euro fine. The speaker instructed the lawyer to object to the fine.
The trial occurred on January 24 in the district court in Berlin. The judge hated the speaker and thought of the speaker as a COVID-19 denier and conspiracy theorist. The phrase "COVID-19 denier" was noted as reminiscent of Holocaust denial in Germany.
The speaker was acquitted because the judge followed the law, which stated that protesting against what was considered unconstitutional activity by German authorities was permissible. The lawyer explained that the prosecutor could appeal the acquittal, which occurred despite the principle against double jeopardy.
The prosecutor appealed the acquittal because there were no other crimes in Germany at that time. The case went to the Supreme Court about a year later. The new trial was held under strict anti-terrorism security measures. Everyone had to go through X-rays, empty their pockets, and no writing implements were allowed. The press received only short pencils and paper. Observers were placed behind bulletproof glass barriers.
A panel of three judges stared at the speaker with absolute hatred. The acquittal was overturned and the speaker was convicted as a hate criminal.
Matt Taibbi was one of the first to write about the case. Jimmy Kirschtik wrote an article published in The Atlantic. The Independent Foundation published several reports. The German press completely refused to address the case. At the second trial, most German journalists wrote that order had been restored and the swastika was still illegal. Eva Sudalt wrote a lengthy, fair article for a major site, which was an exception. Many independent German newspapers covered the story.
All friends were lost. A very small group of close German friends of 16 years corresponded once or twice at the beginning, asking what the speaker was doing and why the issues were being raised. The friends were described as not being freethinkers.
Traditional left-wing friends who were concerned with economics remained decent people. Those who spent 70 years warning about lessons from McCarthyism and 20 years warning about the War on Terror fell for the new narrative.
Mathias Desmet's thesis on mass formation psychosis was completely disagreed with. The position taken was that any society can become a totalitarian regime if the ruling authorities possess the will and the technology to do so.
The message broadcast was that all democratic rights were revoked, suspended, and abolished. The threat was that defiance would result in severe harm. Most people have families, mortgages, and children and have something to lose.
The message conveyed was that challenging the official narrative would result in demonization, inability to work, inability to earn a living, loss of home, and children unable to go to school. The vast majority of people chose that the price of challenging this was too high.
People instinctively join the winning team. The discussion referenced how everyone knows China will dominate the world, so many American officials are saying they are with China.
Authorities are not pretending to care about freedom anymore. Some freedoms remain, such as watching Netflix, browsing bad news, and accumulating massive credit card debt. But thinking for oneself crosses the line into trouble.
The book "The Rise of the New Normal Reich" analyzes the propaganda and coercion used to recruit Western citizens during the coronavirus pandemic. The Germans deemed it dangerous and banned it. The first edition was self-published and had to be withdrawn from worldwide distribution after becoming a Barnes & Noble bestseller and Amazon bestseller.
People who didn't mind unvaccinated people dying were observed. Colleagues posted on social media about calling out people not wearing masks on buses. People went online confirming their affiliation with the party, pointing out perverts, and even disowning parents.
The years working were spent fighting, confronting people, and telling them they were acting like Nazis. It was an ideological war and a war of wills. The German authorities remained vindictive and continued harassment.
C.J. Hopkins describes how the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court overturned his acquittal, requiring him to return to the district court for retrial on charges he maintains he did not commit. In November 2024, after returning from a seven-week book project road trip across the United States in a convertible, police raided his Berlin home at dawn with a search warrant, terrifying his wife and cats while confiscating his computer. This raid coincided with a new criminal investigation and indictment.
Unlike the previous case involving tweets, the new indictment charges Hopkins with writing, publishing, and distributing his book, which has been banned in Germany since 2022. The second charge relates to covering his Supreme Court trial and using the book's cover. Police searched his home for evidence of publication and physical copies of the banned book. Hopkins notes the irony that German authorities claim they are not Nazis while conducting dawn raids to confiscate books.
Hopkins argues this represents the criminalization of opposition rather than isolated incidents. He describes how Germans are arrested simply for posting social media comments insulting politicians, calling someone "stupid." An artist in southern Germany faced prosecution for creating collaborative artwork labeled as "degenerate art," with authorities considering burning the work. These cases demonstrate the message authorities intend to send through such actions.
A Big Brother Watch report indicates that over the past five years, more than 60,000 people have been arrested in the United Kingdom on communications-related charges, exceeding Russia's arrest numbers despite the UK's smaller population. Hopkins clarifies this observation does not defend the Russian regime but highlights that the British regime appears more tyrannical based on these figures.
Hopkins frames these developments as the regime's transformation into an authoritarian system in response to the populist uprising that began in 2015-2016. The message conveyed is that democratic rights remain available only until crossing an undefined line, after which democracy ends and authorities arrest individuals for violating communications laws. This represents a fundamental change in the relationship between the governed and officials.
The enforcement of restrictions operates through deliberate ambiguity. Hopkins notes that prominent German figures and celebrities posted tweets comparing Russians to Nazis with swastika imagery, which authorities deemed acceptable because it aligned with official narratives. However, when Hopkins posted similar content comparing authorities to Nazis, he faced prosecution. The tactic's effectiveness lies in creating uncertainty - individuals never know when authorities might target them.
Hopkins compares this system to living with an alcoholic father who alternates between affection and random violence. The unpredictability serves as a control mechanism through instilled fear. No one knows which person authorities will target next, creating a climate of constant anxiety.
Hopkins identifies specific topics that constitute genuine red lines in Western discourse: criticism of the war in Ukraine, any discussion of January 6th events, and demographic change. These topics differ from criticism of Israel, which faces less restriction on social media platforms. The common thread among prohibited topics involves permanent, significant changes - demographic shifts lasting potentially a thousand years, the strategic importance of the Ukraine conflict, and the serious effort to silence January 6th debate.
From his Berlin perspective, Hopkins observes that criticism of Israel faces different treatment in Germany due to the culture of remembrance. German authorities view unconditional support for Israel as necessary atonement for Nazi crimes, requiring defense of Israeli actions even when those actions contradict German values. Pro-Palestinian protests faced bans and meetings were prohibited, with police responding more brutally than in other protest situations.
Hopkins distinguishes between opposition the regime can tolerate or encourage versus opposition that poses real problems. Race warfare receives encouragement as it diverts attention from systemic issues. COVID-19 opponents face delegitimization as conspiracy theorists, which Hopkins argues serves to discredit challenges to an event of dramatic importance. The regime permits criticism focused on Israel and Zionism partly because it channels opposition into anti-Semitism accusations.
Hopkins presents Israel as the headquarters of global capitalism in the Middle East, serving functions in global espionage, biotechnology, and technological advancement rather than representing isolated Zionist control. He argues that countries cooperating with the global capitalist system, including Saudi Arabia alongside Israel, play their assigned roles regardless of ideological differences.
Hopkins interprets the Gaza response following October 7th as repeating the regime's consistent message about red lines. The message warns against breaching borders and committing massacres against settlers, with the consequence being complete territorial destruction broadcast as an example to others. This approach mirrors the broader pattern of demonstrating consequences for crossing regime boundaries.
Hopkins positions Julian Assange as a more significant example of the same message. Assange's detention in the Ecuadorian embassy and subsequent high-security prison confinement for seven years without charges, despite being an Australian citizen with the Australian government's acquiescence, demonstrates what happens to individuals who create real problems for the regime. Hopkins describes Assange as among the three most intelligent and honest people he has known.
Hopkins connects Russiagate and anti-Trump hysteria to the regime's response to populist victories in Brexit and Trump's 2016 election. The message targeted populists as problems requiring punishment, with examples visible to all. Rural America's declining life expectancy, closed hospitals, and mass migration from third-world countries to rural areas represent punishment for voting for Trump in 2016.
Hopkins describes the emerging system as global capitalism evolving toward greater inclusiveness through a military-derived process of "cleansing and control" - eliminating pockets of internal resistance while entrenching new ideology. Following the Soviet Union's collapse, the world operates under a single ideology with no external adversaries, leaving only internal resistance to address.
The global capitalist system targets regions dominated by traditional, religious, family, and authoritarian values that obstruct transformation into sectors of a single global market. Iran represents a problem because it operates according to religious values. Christian fundamentalists pose similar challenges by insisting on living according to their values rather than treating them as Sunday-only practices.
The system dissolves borders and melts cultures to create uniform market conditions with identical commercial establishments worldwide. People resist this transformation, rejecting life in what Hopkins describes as a "Best Buy store parking lot" and attempting to maintain national cultures, languages, beliefs, values, and ancestral connections.
Hopkins identifies the fundamental conflict as neoliberalism - the expanding global capitalist system - versus traditional nation-state structures with their national cultures and memories. The system attempts to destroy these attachments, which Hopkins presents as the context for contemporary events.
Hopkins argues the emerging totalitarianism differs from 20th-century forms. It cannot openly proclaim itself as totalitarian and must maintain the pretense of operating under rule of law. Capitalism requires maintaining the mask of consumer choice and market freedom, preventing authorities from simply labeling Hopkins an enemy of the state without pretending he violated specific laws.
Hopkins describes living with joy rather than pessimism, viewing life as brief theater where individuals play assigned roles to the best of their ability. He references the Southern phrase "they can kill me, but they can't eat me" and cites Sophie Scholl, the teenager executed by Nazis who maintained perspective that individual life was not paramount and regretted nothing in playing her role. Hopkins emphasizes focusing on performing one's given role effectively rather than dwelling on potential defeat.
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