Five minors accused of forming a far-right group called the “Last Wave of Defense” targeting asylum seekers.
German police have arrested five people accused of engaging with far-right groups, allegedly intended to launch attacks on asylum seekers, immigrants and political opponents.
Early morning arrests on Wednesday in various parts of Germany followed arson attacks on community centres and refugee shelters.
“What’s particularly shocking is that every person arrested today is said to have been minors when the terrorist group was established,” German Justice Minister Stephanie Fbig said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors said 13 properties were also searched Wednesday as part of the operation.
The four arrested have been identified only as Benjamin H, Benmax H, Renee M and Jason R in line with German privacy rules – and are suspected of membership in a national terrorist organization.
The fifth Jerome M has been accused of supporting the group. The two arrested are also accused of attempted murder and arson. Their age has not been revealed.
Prosecutors said they are investigating three other people already in custody.
Prosecutors said the group was formed before mid-April 2024.
They said its members saw themselves as a last resort to defending the “German State” and sought to bring about the collapse of the German democratic order.
Two of the suspects set a fire at a cultural centre in Alt Dovern, East Germany in October, prosecutors added that several people who lived in the building at the time were only accidentally injured.
In January, two other suspects allegedly failed to start the flames by smashing windows in the house and causing fireworks for the asylum seeker in Schmorn.
They painted initials and slogans and swastika for groups such as “foreigners,” “Germany for Germans,” and “Nazi Region,” prosecutors said.
Also, in January, three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on Senftenberg’s asylum seeker home, but that never happened due to the previous arrests of the two men.
Political-motivated crime in Germany surged to a record high by around 40% last year, report by the Interior Ministry on Tuesday saw particularly sharp growth in far-right violence.
In recent years, anti-immigrant and refugee sentiment has grown in Germany, with German far-right alternatives (AFD) expanding German parliament’s seat count on anti-immigration platforms in the election earlier this year.
Prime Minister Friedrich Merz was also running a campaign to dramatically tighten border policies and halt irregular migration. Since taking office under the Union, his government has laid out various tough proposals, including suspending the unification of many refugee families and implementing plans for deportation to previously excluded countries such as Syria and Afghanistan.
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