The federal prosecutor's office launched a raid on Friday against a suspected right-wing terrorist organization. The suspects had apparently planned attacks.
- A raid was carried out on Friday at 13 locations in Germany.
- Several people are suspected of having formed a right-wing terrorist organization .
- The suspects are said to have also planned attacks .
Update of February 17: Apparently, the targets of the alleged “hard core” terrorist cell were more specific than originally assumed. The alleged terrorists and supporters around Werner S. are said to have already planned attacks on six mosques in smaller cities. In security circles, the plans are considered a "particularly serious case".
This is also because the men who, according to dpa information, met in a telegram chat group and had met only twice, were quick to act. In addition to the police, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution was also involved in the clarification of the group's activities, which the investigators call “Group S.” and was closely monitored.
Right-wing terrorist cell: attacks on six targets in smaller cities planned
One of the supporters is said to have already received the order to procure weapons . During the raids on Friday, February 14, the investigators are said to have secured axes, swords and firearms. The arrests on Friday clearly showed the acute danger of right-wing motivated attacks, said FDP domestic politician Benjamin Strasser. That is why it is absolutely necessary to "standardize the protection standards for endangered objects such as religious institutions throughout Germany".
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution currently assumes around 12,700 violent right-wing extremists. The police classify 53 rights nationwide as a threat. In the area of politically motivated crime, the police describe people as "dangerous" who they believe can commit serious acts of violence, including terrorist attacks.
The plans of the "Group S." have similarities to the plans of the "Revolution Chemnitz" group. Its members were arrested in October 2018.
Strike against right-wing terrorist cell: V-man prevented attack on mosque
Update from February 16, 12:13 p.m .: Investigators smashed a suspected right-wing terrorist cell on Friday - more and more shocking details are now coming to light. According to picture information , the group planned devastating attacks . This may include an attack on a mosque modeled on the dramatic attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019 . The investigative authorities are said to have received explosive information from a V-man .
Strike against right-wing terrorist cell: Special commission determined - after meeting in Minden, then access
A 40-member special commission investigated the alleged right-wing terrorist cell that formed over the Internet. On Friday there was a raid in which twelve Germans between 31 and 60 years old were arrested . The arrest warrants followed on Saturday. During the raid, sharp weapons and other evidence were seized according to Bild.de. On Saturday a week ago, at least ten members and supporters of the group met for the first time in person in Minden (NRW), where one of the group members lives. He appeared to the authorities as a "rich citizen" .
The meeting of the group called "The hard core" was observed by the state security. A V-man who was smuggled into the group told the investigators that the suspects wanted to use semi-automatic weapons to enter mosques and kill as many Muslims as possible . The access took place a few days after the meeting in Minden. Now all suspects arrested in the raid are in custody. However, the Federal Prosecutor added a fifth man to the core of the group. He was the only one not arrested.
Strike against right-wing terrorist cell: Connections to right-wing extremist Finnish group uncovered
Update from February 16, 2020 at 8.15 a.m .: After the smashing of a suspected right-wing terrorist cell , the name of the group has apparently become known. It operated under the name "The hard core" , reports the world on Sunday , citing investigators. Accordingly, the group members are said to have had connections to the far-right group "Soldiers of Odin" . The latter, according to Welt am Sonntag, is a member of a right-wing extremist militia founded in Finland in 2015. This later also developed in Germany. The members of this vigilante usually appear uniformly dressed in black and in jackets with Viking skulls. The security authorities led the suspected leader of the group, Werner S., as an extreme-right threat , reports the mirror.
Raid against right-wing terrorism: Police employee in custody - nationwide arrests
Update from 7:18 p.m .: Eleven of the twelve suspected terrorists are now in custody . The investigative judges of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe are still busy on Saturday evening with the last demonstration of twelve men who are believed to be part of a right-wing terrorist group who are said to have planned attacks on politicians, asylum seekers and Muslims in order to trigger civil war-like conditions.
The demonstration of 35-year-old Thomas N. from North Rhine-Westphalia is currently still ongoing. A spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe informed the German press agency. N. is said to have formed the hard core of the right-wing terrorist cell with three other main suspects. His alleged accomplices are already in custody - as are the other eight men who are said to have supported the four.
Raid against right-wing terrorism: suspects are said to have planned attacks to cause chaos
The hearings of the many suspects had dragged on all day. All twelve men were brought to the BGH in Karlsruhe. An investigating judge decides whether someone - as requested by the Federal Prosecutor - is in custody or has to be released due to lack of reliable evidence.
The Attorney General had raided the group on Friday in six federal states. The alleged right- wing terrorists are said to have considered attacks in order to create chaos and thus cause the social order of the Federal Republic to falter. However, the project has not yet been specified.
Right-wing terrorists wanted to shake the republic - eleven out of twelve suspects in custody
The detainees, all German, are reported to be between 31 and 60 years old. Four of them are said to have joined together to form the actual terror cell . The eight others think the investigators are supporters. They are said to have agreed to give money, to procure weapons or to participate in future attacks. The federal prosecutor added a fifth man to the core of the group. He was the only one who was not arrested.
According to the federal prosecutor , the group had exchanged chats and calls, and had met several times. The meeting is said to have been coordinated by 53-year-old Werner S. from the Augsburg area, partly supported by Tony E. (39) from Lower Saxony (Uelzen district). As "Der Spiegel" reported, more than ten people gathered last Saturday in Minden, Westphalia. This meeting was observed with great effort by the security authorities.
The third, Thomas N., against whom no arrest warrant had been enforced by the evening, comes from the Minden-Lübbecke district, according to dpa information. The fourth alleged member of the group, Michael B. (47), comes from Baden-Württemberg (Esslingen area).
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) announced on Friday during the searches that an administrative employee of the police had been suspended. This man is reportedly one of the alleged supporters . The other seven alleged helpers had also been caught in NRW, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt.
Raid on suspected right-wing terrorists - five suspects in custody
Update at 3:32 pm: As is now known, five of the twelve arrested are in custody . First, investigative judges from the Federal Court of Justice issued an arrest warrant on Saturday against a suspected group member, 39-year-old Tony E. from Lower Saxony , and against four alleged helpers from Saxony-Anhalt, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. The other screenings are scheduled to take place later in the day.
Update from February 15, 2020, 2:54 p.m .: The day after the alleged smashing of a suspected right-wing terrorist cell , the first suspects in Karlsruhe were brought to the judges of the Federal Court of Justice. A spokesman for the prosecutor said on request that the demonstrations would have started on Saturday morning. Now the investigating judges should decide whether the twelve suspects will be put into custody or whether someone will be released.
Four of the five suspected members believed to have been at the core of the group were arrested yesterday after a raid. The police also arrested eight suspected supporters . A fifth man , who is also said to have belonged to the core of the association, remained at large .
Raid on alleged right-wing terrorists: three of the men come from Bavaria
Update at 5:00 p.m .: Three of the men arrested on Friday after raids on a suspected right-wing terrorist cell come from Bavaria, as reported by the dpa . Allegedly one of the alleged central members comes from the Augsburg district, two others accused of supporters from Munich and the Upper Bavarian district of Pfaffenhofen .
The federal prosecutor assumes that five suspected right-wing extremists have founded the terrorist group and have targeted attacks on politicians, asylum seekers and Muslims . Four of them were arrested. The attacks should have triggered civil war-like conditions - with the aim of "shaking and ultimately overcoming the state and social order of the Federal Republic of Germany".
A total of twelve people were arrested , all of them German and male. They should be brought before the Federal Supreme Court's investigative judge on Friday or Saturday. The latter decides whether all suspects are to be remanded in custody or whether someone may need to be released.
Raid on suspected terrorism: 12 people arrested
Update at 2.30 p.m .: After the raids in a total of 13 locations in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria , Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt, the Federal Attorney General had 12 of the 13 suspects arrested - the dpa news agency reports. As the federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe announced on Friday, the current investigations have confirmed the suspicion . The detainees are consistently Germans and men . They should still be brought before the Federal Supreme Court's investigative judge on Friday or Saturday. The latter must decide whether all suspects are to be remanded in custody or if someone needs to be released.
Arrest of suspected members and supporters of a right-wing terrorist association, press release from the #Bundesanwaltschaft on 02/14/2020 https://t.co/o6fWI9NFmj
- Federal Prosecutor's Office (@GBA_b_BGH) February 14, 2020Update at 10:52 a.m .: According to the ARD and SWR, the five suspects who are accused of forming an extreme right-wing association are men between 20 and 50 years of age . According to the report, they exchanged the idea of the attacks and photos of self-made weapons in a chat group . The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution had become aware of this.
The federal prosecutor's office therefore launched a raid on Friday. The State Criminal Police Office in Baden-Württemberg was commissioned to take the lead.
First report from February 14, 2020, 9.45 a.m .:
Karlsruhe - The federal prosecutor raided an alleged right-wing terrorist organization on Friday. The Karlsruhe authorities said that an investigation was underway against five accused who were known by name . At a total of 13 locations in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt, apartments and other premises of the accused were searched. Arrests were initially not carried out .
Searches in several German cities due to the suspicion of founding a right-wing terrorist association, press release from the #Bundesanwaltschaft on 02/14/2020 https://t.co/vom435i5uh
- Federal Prosecutor's Office (@GBA_b_BGH) February 14, 2020Raid on suspected right-wing terrorists: suspects are said to have planned attacks
The five suspects are said to have joined together in September last year to form a right-wing terrorist organization * . They are said to have planned to achieve conditions similar to civil war with attacks on asylum seekers, people of Muslim faith and politicians who have not yet been specified, the prosecution said. The aim was to shake Germany's state and social order.
Eight alleged supporters are also said to have agreed to support the association with money and weapons and to help with future attacks. With the raid, the federal prosecutor wants to objectify the suspicions according to its own statements. In particular, it should be clarified whether the accused already had weapons or other objects for attacks.
There was also a weapons raid in Bavaria at the end of January. The police made spectacular discoveries *.
Video: More and more right-wing extremists arm themselves
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen Digital editors network.