extremism
“Knockout 51”: The accused wanted to print a firearm
According to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s indictment, the four defendants founded the Eisenach neo-Nazi martial arts group “Knockout 51” and were members there. photo
© Bodo Schackow/dpa
Four men from Thuringia are said to belong to the neo-Nazi combat group “Knockout 51” and have prepared serious crimes – up to and including murder. Further details are dealt with in a process in Jena.
At least one of the defendants in the trial of alleged members of the neo-Nazi combat group “According to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, “Knockout 51” tried to produce a live firearm with a 3D printer. The main defendant began to produce the essential parts of a submachine gun between February and April 2021, said a representative of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday at the start of the trial before the Higher Regional Court in Jena.
“By then he had also procured the other components required for the completion of a ready-to-use weapon,” it said at the indictment. He also wanted to manufacture the appropriate ammunition himself and started doing so as well.
In the proceedings, the Attorney General accuses four Thuringian men of having prepared the most serious crimes. From April 2021 at the latest, the prosecution is convinced that the group “Knockout 51” was also geared towards killing attackers from the left-wing extremist camp in addition to committing bodily harm.
The four men were arrested in early April 2022 in a large-scale attack on the militant neo-Nazi scene. They have been in custody ever since.