German justice announced Thursday, April 14 to have thwarted plans for far-right attacks, fomented by a radicalized fringe of the antivax movement, which supported Russian President Putin and wanted to attack "
the democratic order
".
To discover
LIVE - Presidential election: follow the campaign between the two rounds
Presidential 2022: find here the result of the first round of the election
Read alsoAntivax campaign against the Valenciennes hospital: fines for a former figure of "yellow vests"
Four people were arrested after a crackdown in a messaging network called "
United Patriots
", which aimed to destroy "
the German democratic system
", announced the Koblenz prosecutor's office and the Rhineland police. Palatinate in a statement.
The network organized on the Telegram platform was also considering kidnappings of public figures, including the Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, a supporter of restrictions against Covid-19.
He said he was "
shattered
" upon hearing the news.
A "far-right group"
Interior Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate Roger Lewentz spoke of a "
extreme right-wing group
" bringing together some "
70 people
" in the country, during a press conference.
All their thoughts "
ranging from an overthrow of the democratic order to the establishment of a new government to statements that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin should also succeed here in Germany to enable the advent of 'a new system of government, are to say the least very reprehensible
,' he judged.
The Social Democratic Minister of Health for his part denounced a drift of certain “
Querdenker
” (literally anti-conformists), as these opponents of government policy to fight the pandemic are called in Germany.
This "
shows not only that the protests against the anti-Covid rules have become radicalized, (...) but that there are parallel attempts to destabilize the state
", he reacted to the press, deploring actions "
of a small but very dangerous minority
".
These suspects had planned in particular to attack the electricity networks to cause "
a long-lasting power outage throughout the territory
", which would have, in their minds, created the conditions for a "
civil war
,” according to the authorities.
Firearms and ammunition seized
The police had been investigating this group since October 2021.
During searches in nine regions on Wednesday, investigators notably seized firearms and ammunition, gold bars and silver coins, currencies worth more than 10,000 euros, as well as mobile phones including analysis still needs to be done.
They also found fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates, or several documents written on their plans to overthrow the state.
The investigation concerns 5 suspects, all Germans, aged between 41 and 55, 4 of whom have been arrested.
Read alsoAntivax sentenced to 10 months in prison for threatening MPs with death
Police operations targeting the radical fringe of the anti-health restrictions movement have multiplied in the country, which has placed far-right violence at the forefront of threats to public order, ahead of the jihadist risk.
This movement has been particularly mobilized in Germany since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and active in Telegram groups.
She makes threats against elected officials or during demonstrations.
The street protests, however, have dwindled since the easing of restrictions in the country and the recent failure of a mandatory vaccination law that the government of Olaf Scholz failed to pass. .
More generally, Germany has been on high alert for far-right terrorism since the June 2019 murder by a neo-Nazi activist of an elected official from Angela Merkel's conservative party, Walter Lübcke, who defended the policy of reception of migrants from the former Chancellor.
His death had had the effect of an electric shock in the country.
In early April, the German authorities notably carried out a major sweep in far-right terrorist circles, as part of a broader investigation, involving police and military intelligence services since 2019.
Read also Presidential: "
Yellow Vests
", antivax, antipass ... these refractory that some candidates want to seduce
Four suspects from the "
Knockout 51
" group were then arrested.
Ongoing investigations also target the “
Atomwaffen Division Deutschland
” group, the German branch of the American neo-Nazi movement.
On Wednesday, the federal prosecutor's office announced the indictment of a young German sympathizer of this movement suspected of having wanted to start "
a war of races
" in Germany via attacks with explosives and firearms.
