7 members of suspected far-right group arrested
BERLIN — Seven Germans described by authorities as belonging to the “hooligan, skinhead and neo-Nazi scenes” in eastern Germany have been arrested on suspicion of building a far-right terrorist organization called Revolution Chemnitz — named for the city that was rocked by recent street clashes — the country’s federal prosecutor said Monday.
Six men, all Germans ages 20 to 30, were arrested Monday. They are suspected of acting under the leadership of the seventh man, who has been in police custody since Sept. 14, when federal authorities opened their investigation, the prosecutor, Peter Frank, said in a statement. The group was at first seen only as a criminal organization, he said, but further evidence, including the intent to procure semiautomatic weapons, led investigators to suspect terrorism.
The arrests come just weeks after violence broke out in Chemnitz, where far-right extremists clashed with police at demonstrations over the fatal stabbing of a German man who was trying to intervene in a dispute between two recent immigrants. A Syrian man remains in detention on suspicion of the killing.
On Sept. 14, authorities said, five of the suspects took part in an attack on foreigners in Chemnitz. Authorities said that event appeared to have been a rehearsal for an action planned for Oct. 3, a national holiday celebrating the reunification of Germany.
It was not immediately clear if any of the men arrested were among those giving the stiffarmed Nazi salute or shouting anti-foreigner slogans in the demonstrations in Chemnitz, which led to a bitter dispute that nearly split Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government. After reports that far-right extremists had “hunted” foreigners during that unrest, Merkel denounced the violence, but Hans-Georg Maassen, head of country’s domestic intelligence agency, challenged the veracity of videos showing a skinhead chasing a dark-skinned man.
His comments raised questions over whether the agency, officially known as the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, was in a position to properly investigate far-right extremists, or had compromised its neutrality. Maassen was eventually forced to leave his post.
Authorities said the suspects’ extreme-right beliefs focused “on a ‘revolutionary’ goal of triumphing over the democratic rule of law” that included “violent and armed attacks against foreigners and those holding different political beliefs.” Among the potential targets were politicians and representatives of civil society, the prosecutor said.