They planned “violent attacks” in Germany and the kidnapping of “public figures”. Four members of a far-right network in the Antivax movement and opponents of anti-Covid rules have been arrested, the German judiciary said on Thursday. The Social Democratic Health Minister Karl Lauterbach was also a target. Here’s what we know.
What was this network?
The Koblenz public prosecutor’s office and the Rhineland-Palatinate police said in a joint press release that this network, called “United Patriots,” aims to destroy “the German democratic system.” They wanted to sow chaos in order to lead to civil war-like conditions. Several of its members were arrested on Wednesday.
In particular, they confiscated firearms and ammunition, gold bars and silver coins, currencies worth more than 10,000 euros, as well as mobile phones, fake vaccination cards against Covid-19.19 or several written documents about their plans to overthrow the state.
Those arrested are exclusively German nationals. Another is singled out by the authorities but not arrested. They are 41, 42, 50, 54 and 55 years old. Specialized services have been investigating this group, its founders and their supporters in several regions of the country since October 2021.
What were their goals?
According to the findings of the investigation, this group planned to kidnap the Social Democratic Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. This “not only shows that the protests against the anti-Covid rules have become more radical (…), but that these are now attempts to destabilize the state,” Karl Lauterbach reacted during a press conference, saying he was “upset” and the denunciation of minority extremists “but very dangerous”.
Those arrested also planned bombings on utility companies, with the aim of triggering a nationwide blackout and starting a civil war.
Is it unprecedented?
Police operations against the radical fringe of the anti-health lockdown movement have multiplied in the country that has put far-right violence at the forefront of threats to public order, ahead of the risk of jihad. This movement has been particularly mobilized in Germany since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and is active in Telegram groups when threats are made against elected officials or during demonstrations.
The country was also shocked by the assassination in June 2019 of Walter Lübcke, elected by the conservative party, by a neo-Nazi activist who was defending former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of accepting migrants. In early April, German authorities specifically targeted far-right terrorist circles as part of a broader investigation involving police and military intelligence services since 2019.