A person with the account “profdrcn” has been commenting on Instagram for over two years. For several overweight women, he writes under their photos: “Whale watching season has started.” For a woman who complains about being stared at by men because of her appearance, “profdrcn” writes: “The way you stare at a traffic accident.” In the post of a woman who made her cancer public, he commented: “The chemo probably blew her brains out.”
These are misogynistic statements that are posted anonymously thousands of times every day on social networks. It is often almost impossible to identify the people behind these hate messages. In this case, however, numerous, independent indications suggest that there is no unknown private person behind the account, but rather a high-ranking lawyer from Lower Saxony.
The President of the Osnabrück Administrative Court comes from Rinteln in Lower Saxony, is 60 years old, chairman of the Association of Lower Saxony Administrative Judges and honorary professor at the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hanover: Gert Armin Neuhäuser.
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Gert Armin Neuhäuser had a lawyer respond to a taz query. He neither wants to confirm nor deny that Neuhäuser is running the account, but writes: “Our client did not comment in the manner you suggested.”
The most common victims are women
If the assignment of “profdrcn” to Neuhäuser is confirmed, a legal question of public interest will arise. Paragraph 39 of the German Judges Act states: “The judge must behave inside and outside of his office, including when politically active, in such a way that trust in his independence is not jeopardized.” The judge must also behave outside of work in such a way that there are no doubts in the public that he is making fair and independent judgments.
But can a judge who presumably uses his private account to make such derogatory comments about groups of people judge them fairly and independently?
The most common victims of “profdrcn” hate comments are women. Sometimes it hits the well-known musician Jennifer Rostock, other times it hits small accounts with around 2,000 followers. When it comes to various musicians, “profdrcn” repeatedly comments: “Visually and musically dramatically bad.” “profdrcn” is particularly bothered when women have tattoos or piercings. In the case of a pierced woman, he comments: “You have made a very unaesthetic disfigurement of yourself, especially your ears. Tragic.”
For another woman he writes: “The geriatric nurses will hopefully get a disgusting allowance in fifty years.” However, most of the hate comments are directed against – in his eyes – overweight women, for example making fun of their cellulite or comparing them to whales. He insults the Austrian musician Schwesta Ebra as “presswurst, you have insulted my eyes”. Behind it he adds four crying salmon smileys. How does an overweight woman feel sitting in a courtroom in front of a judge who probably says the same thing online?
Another popular target of “profdrcn” is queer people. In July 2025, queer comedian Tobias Born posted a short video in which he held up a sign: “Anyone reading this is queer!” Below, “profdrcn” comments: “Whoever thinks that is sick.” A musician who is promoting a lesbian and gay city festival in Berlin, the “Motz Street Festival”, writes: “Kotzstrassenfest”. To a trans woman he comments: “You are and will remain a man”. How does a queer person feel sitting in a courtroom in front of a judge who probably says that way online?
Multiple clues to true identity
Administrative judge Gert Armin Neuhäuser is also politically active. He is chairman of the “Rintelner Interests” faction in the Rinteln city council. A few weeks ago he happily announced that Anthony Lee would also support his group in the future. Lee is a farmer, but above all known as a right-wing populist influencerwho has openly advocated for a coalition between the CDU and the AfD. “We need politics for the citizens again, and less red and green ideology!” said Neuhäuser in the press release.
In the case of a woman he writes: Hopefully the geriatric nurses will get a disgusting allowance in fifty years
On Instagram, “profdrcn” chooses clear words. He accuses the SPD of preparing a proxy war against Russia. And: “Uncontrolled migration. Thank you, SPD,” he writes in another comment. Under the post from the Dortmund Green Party he comments: “Never again the green sect”. He describes activists who protested against the founding of the AfD youth organization “Generation Germany” in December of last year as “left-wing fascists.”
There are many indications that Gert Armin Neuhäuser could be behind the profile: “profdrcn”’s Instagram bio says “GAN”, the initials of Gert Armin Neuhäuser. The account was called “profdrgan” until it was renamed last year. Because Instagram does not change the markings in comment columns when the account is renamed, the two names can be merged under the account. The profile picture now shows white grapes on a vine. The account previously used a photo of a man who looks very similar to Gert Armin Neuhäuser.
In discussions in comment columns, another Instagram user addressed “profdrcn” as “Gert-Armin Neuhäuser” in the fall of 2024. He had replied: “please without a hyphen”. In fact, Gert Armin Neuhäuser spells himself without a hyphen. In addition, “profdrcn” was outraged on Instagram in December 2025 that his company car, a Volkswagen ID 4, was unusable “in the northern German plain” due to the lack of a charging structure. The company car at the court in Osnabrück is a Volkswagen ID 4; Rinteln is in the northern German lowlands.
And a butcher shop provided another clue: On May 14, 2023, the Rauch butcher shop posted a picture gallery with information about their new building in Haste, Lower Saxony. The Rauch butcher shop also has locations in Rinteln and Lauenau. Under the post, “profdrcn” (then known as profdrgan) commented: “Good luck to you.” The butcher shop responded with “Thank you Gert-Armin – congratulations on your professional success”. Two days earlier, on May 12, 2023, Gert Armin Neuhäuser had received his certificate of appointment as President of the Osnabrück Administrative Court. And – as stated – Neuhäuser comes from Rinteln.
In several comments, “profdrcn” refers to his professional experience. So he comments to a young woman who was upset about firecrackers on New Year’s Eve: “I’m a lawyer and you can sue the surgeon for damages because of the botched lip operation. Classic malpractice.” At another point he comments to an educational researcher who researches discrimination at universities: “I am a university teacher myself, and I don’t know of any place that is more free of discrimination than the university.” Neuhäuser was appointed honorary professor at the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hanover in 2020. This winter semester, Neuhäuser is giving the lectures “Municipal Law II” and “Public Service Law”.
After the taz’s inquiry, Neuhäuser hired a lawyer. He does not answer the question of whether Neuhäuser is the person responsible for the account. In a letter to the editors, he explains that there is “no reliable evidence” linking his client to the account. Reporting violates the journalistic duty of care.
Neuhäuser judged police officers in a right-wing chat group
After Neuhäuser received the taz request, many of the objectionable comments from the account were deleted. The lawyer points out that no conclusions can be drawn about the user’s identity. In another letter we learn from the lawyer: The evidence we have cited can hardly be surpassed in terms of its paucity. The fact that anonymous profiles on the Internet imitate real biographies, company car models or key professional details in order to feign authenticity is a trivial phenomenon of digital identity abuse. Each of our “findings” can easily be explained by the deliberate construction of a fake profile by third parties who want to discredit Mr. Neuhäuser.
The “chain of evidence” is nothing more than a collection of correlations that we try to inflate into causality due to a lack of real evidence. His client therefore does not have to comment on the question of responsibility for the account. And the lawyer says: Our request does not trigger any secondary burden of proof, so Neuhäuser does not have to answer it. And he will sue us if we report this.
When asked by the taz, the University of Hanover replied that the content of “profdrcn”’s social media presence “did not affect academic competence, but rather personal content”. Furthermore, their assignment “cannot be verified” for the university.
The Osnabrück Administrative Court does not want to comment on questions about the “profdrcn” social media account.
The highest supervisory authority for judges like Neuhäuser is the Lower Saxony Ministry of Justice. In response to a request from the taz, this writes: “The Ministry of Justice has no information as to whether the account in question is operated by Prof. Dr. Neuhäuser.” However, the authority asked Neuhäuser for a statement.
With a view to the last judgments of the Osnabrück Administrative Court headed by Neuhäuser One in particular from January 2025 stands out. It was about a police chief who had participated in right-wing chat groups. The police department had requested that he be removed from the service because of sending and receiving files that were racist, xenophobic or trivialized the Nazi era.
The 9th Chamber of the Osnabrück Administrative Court, chaired by Gert Armin Neuhäuser, found that the police officer had committed an official misconduct, but considered the removal from duty to be disproportionate and demoted him to the position of police chief commissioner. The court’s reasoning stated that the official had violated his duty to adhere to the constitution. But: “As part of an overall assessment, it must be taken into account that a civil servant also has a right to a private life.”