It is a big blow to the right-wing scene: Since the morning, investigators have been taking action against suspected right-wing extremists in eleven federal states. Four people from the environment of an Eisenach martial arts group were arrested, said a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor in Karlsruhe on Wednesday.
Previously had the mirror and other media reports. Accordingly, among the suspects is an active non-commissioned officer in the Bundeswehr. The 26-year-old served, among other things, with the armored troops in Munster, Lower Saxony, and was observed by the military counter-intelligence service, but still had “constant access to weapons and ammunition”.
According to the federal prosecutor’s office, investigations had preceded the operation since 2019, in particular against the “Nuclear Weapons Division” (AWD), the German offshoot of a right-wing extremist group founded in the USA, which is said to be responsible for five murders in the USA. In Germany, the authorities first noticed it in June 2018. There are indications of activities against the free-democratic basic order, it said. The “nuclear weapons division” became known in Germany in autumn 2019 for death threats against the Green politicians Cem Özdemir and Claudia Roth.
According to the federal prosecutor, the martial arts group is “Knockout 51”. The group acted from Eisenach in Thuringia. The allegations are about physical harm, especially against people from the left-wing scene, it said. The accused are said to have tried to “ensure order” with neighborhood strips. In addition, members of “Knockout 51” are said to have taken part in protests against the federal government’s corona protection measures in order to provoke violence there.
According to the information, the “Flieder Volkshaus” in Eisenach, which houses the state headquarters of the right-wing extremist NPD, is also affected by the searches. The martial arts group training is said to have taken place in the house. According to the federal prosecutor, the right-wing extremist group “Combat 18”, which was banned in early 2020, was also affected by the raids. This is about violations of the prohibition of association.
According to the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, the current searches are “an important blow against the violent right-wing extremist scene and a great success for the security authorities”. The recently intensified package of measures by the federal government against right-wing extremism in Germany is having an effect, Haldenwang told the dpa on Wednesday morning. “We take just as consistent action against attempts to succeed banned organizations as we do against the right-wing extremist martial arts scene.”