Thought Crimes, Cults, and Propaganda: The System’s Evolution Into Nazi Totalitarianism

What happened in this episode?

Tucker Carlson interviews Berlin-based playwright and author CJ Hopkins about his claims of legal and professional repercussions in Germany following his criticism of Covid-era policies and the publication of his book The Rise of the New Normal Reich. Hopkins recounts Germany’s pandemic restrictions, including mask rules and what he describes as a “lockdown of the unvaccinated”, and repeatedly frames the period as a rapid turn towards authoritarianism. He argues that emergency legislation in Germany – the Infection Protection Act – functioned like a modern “enabling act”, a comparison he explicitly links to Germany’s 1933 history.

Much of the discussion centres on Hopkins’ account of a criminal case stemming from tweets that used cover art featuring a masked swastika, which he says led to platform enforcement and book removals by Twitter and Amazon in parts of Europe. He says he was acquitted at first instance but claims prosecutors appealed and that a later hearing involved “anti-terrorist” security procedures. Hopkins also alleges a separate, later investigation: he says Berlin police raided his home in November 2025, seized his computer, and that prosecutors are now pursuing him over publishing and distributing the book itself.

Beyond his personal case, Hopkins and Carlson argue that speech enforcement and public shaming function as deterrence. Hopkins cites a purported Big Brother Watch figure of 60,000 UK arrests for “communications” offences, and contends western states are increasingly criminalising dissent while maintaining the outward “veneer” of consumer choice and rule-of-law formalities.

What are the key points?

• CJ Hopkins describes Covid restrictions in Berlin as fast-moving and highly enforced, including access limits tied to vaccination status.
• Hopkins says he faced criminal investigation after tweets using his book cover were geo-censored in Germany and his book was removed from sale on Amazon in multiple European markets.
• He says a Berlin court acquitted him initially, but prosecutors appealed and he later faced a higher-court hearing he describes as handled under anti-terror security procedures.
• Hopkins claims police conducted a dawn raid at his Berlin home in November 2025, confiscating his computer in connection with a new indictment over publishing and distributing his book.
• He alleges the August 2020 Reichstag-related protest optics were shaped by policing and permitting decisions, and he calls it a precursor to later unrest narratives.
• Hopkins cites a figure he attributes to Big Brother Watch that more than 60,000 people in the UK have been arrested for “communications” offences over five years.

Who is speaking?

Named speakers identified in Egleze's source-linked moments from this episode.

• CJ Hopkins

Which topics are covered?

How is this page sourced?

Programme

Tucker Carlson Show

Published

5 October 2026

Duration

1h 32m

Original episode

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