The Bavarian Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism and investigators from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office searched the addresses of people in Bavaria on Wednesday morning who are assigned to the so-called prepper and Reich citizen scene. They are said to have planned to bring about a political upheaval in Germany by sabotaging electricity pylons.
Preppers are people who prepare for possible disasters and emergencies, but also for disruptions to the social or economic order. Many hoard appropriate supplies, others build bunkers or practice survival techniques. “Reich citizens” do not recognize the Federal Republic and its democratic structures.
Investigations against six suspects
As the Munich public prosecutor announced, six objects were searched by three suspects and one witness in Upper Bavaria and in the Upper Palatinate. A spokesman declined to give more details about the location. A total of six suspects have been investigated since last year.
They are accused of planning to start September 2020 by sabotaging power poles a large-scale power failure in Germany bring about. This was intended to bring about an overthrow in order to take over political power in Germany.
The investigators hope to gain further insights by evaluating the computers and storage media secured today. A total of 70 forces were involved in the search. Education and membership in a terrorist organization are being investigated, but no one has been arrested.
Connection to search in Neumarkt possible
Today’s raid could have been the result of a search of several buildings almost a year ago in the Neumarkt area in der Oberpfalz. At that time, more than 70 firearms were seized, most of them legally owned. At the time, the police spoke of plans to sabotage power poles. A connection between the two police actions was not confirmed by the authorities when asked by BR, but they were not denied either.
With information from the dpa