Udo Hemmelgarn
Udo Hemmelgarn (born 4 May 1959) is a German politician for the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and a member of the Bundestag since 2017. Life and politics. Hemmelgarn was born 1959 in the West German town of Harsewinkel and worked as self-reliant merchandiser. He entered the newly founded AfD in 2013 and became a member of the Bundestag, the primary law-making body, after the 2017 German federal election. Positions and Controversies. Hemmelgarn denies the scientific consensus on climate change. Hemmelgarn was alleged to be part of the far right-wing Reichsbürgerbewegung, but he contested the  allegations. In 2019, Hemmelgarn organized a secret travel of four AfD members of Bundestag to Syria. He is a strong supporter of a "new Syria-policy" in the Bundestag. For AfD that meant a backing of the Assad-regime and German government support for Russian involvement in the region. In 2020, Hemmelgarn was one of several AfD delegates implicated in bringing guests into the Reichstag building who then proceeded to intimidate members of the government and other delegates.