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Thomas Haldenwang, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution: "If it had been up to this group, then this danger was quite real."
Photo: MICHELE TANTUSSI/ REUTERS
After the nationwide raids on the Reich Citizens' Scene, the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, calls for a security check for all persons who are admitted to the federal and state security agencies.
Such a check by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution would make sense, said Haldenwang on Wednesday evening in the ARD "Tagesthemen" against the background that there were several soldiers among the 25 arrested.
Intensive training measures on how to deal with right-wing extremism in their own ranks and improved reporting requirements are also necessary.
"There are more than isolated cases"
During one of the largest police operations against extremists in Germany, 25 people from the Reich citizen scene who probably wanted to overthrow the political system were arrested on Tuesday.
According to the federal prosecutor, they are suspected of having formed a terrorist organization that wanted to use armed force to install a new government and would have accepted the deaths.
"There are more than isolated cases," said Haldenwang.
The large, overwhelming mass of employees in the security authorities stand with both feet firmly on the ground of the Basic Law.
These workers put their lives at risk every day for the safety of the people.
Haldenwang emphasized that the security authorities had a keen eye on the scene and knew what was happening there.
He can only recommend everyone to keep their distance.
Accordingly, the security authorities were informed early on about the Reich Citizens' Group's plans for a coup.
The federal and state authorities for the protection of the constitution found out about this group very early on, Haldenwang said on Wednesday in a ZDF “special”.
The group had been observed since the spring of this year and had a very clear overview of their plans and developments.
The plans then became more and more concrete and weapons were procured.
number of suspects increases
"When we had to assume that things could get dangerous, we naturally also worked directly with the Federal Public Prosecutor and the police authorities," said Haldenwang.
He emphasized: "The German security authorities as a whole had the situation under control at all times.
But if this group had had their way, the danger was quite real.”
Meanwhile, the number of suspects is growing.
BKA President Holger Münch named the number of 54 suspects on Wednesday evening in the ZDF "heute journal" and spoke of more than 150 searches.
Weapons were also found in around 50 objects.
Münch expected further suspects and searches in the next few days.
Around 3,000 officers were involved in the raids on Wednesday.
muk/dpa