Neo-Nazi gunman Stephan Balliet on trial in Germany. Photo: Reuters/Christian Schroedter.

The neo-Nazi on trial in Germany for an attempted massacre in October 2019 of worshipers attending Yom Kippur services in the central city of Halle was silenced in court by the presiding judge for remarks in which he denied the Holocaust.

The accused, 28-year-old Stephan Balliet, claimed that the Holocaust was a myth as he delivered his final testimony to the court. Holocaust denial is a criminal offense in Germany and several other European countries.

Balliet told the court in Magdeburg that the proceedings against him were a “show trial” and denied the Holocaust, drawing shouts of protest from the co-plaintiffs on the benches.

Judge Ursula Mertens promptly reminded him that denying the Holocaust was illegal before cutting him off.

“I explained this to you, you must not repeat it,” Mertens told the defendant, as prosecuting attorney Alexander Hoffman called out, “This is a criminal offense, and he should do time for it again,”

Unrepentant neo-Nazi Balliet had previously denied the Holocaust during the trial, while also spouting racist and misogynist conspiracy theories and confirming that “attacking the synagogue was not a mistake, they are my enemies.”