Germany: Eight suspected right-wing militants arrested

Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor announced on Tuesday that eight suspected members of a right-wing militant group had been arrested in a series of raids across three countries and involving hundreds of officers.

"We are talking about a group of about 15 to 20 people," prosecutors said, adding that the group was characterized by "racist, antisemitic, and in some cases apocalyptic ideas." 

"Its members are connected by a deep rejection of the free and democratic order" of Germany, prosecutors said in a statement.

The statement said the group plotted to seize power in the state of Saxony and potentially other eastern German states "to establish governmental and societal structures inspired by National Socialism."

"Even ethnic cleansing was part of their inhuman plans," Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement, adding that the arrests showed the importance of protecting Germany's free and democratic order from threats "from many sides."

"We must do everything we can to defend our liberal democracy against its enemies," he said.

Who are the 'Saxon Separatists'?

Calling themselves the Sächsische Separatisten or "Saxon Separatists," the group was planning for what they called the "collapse" of civilization in order to bring about "a national socialist order" in politics and society.

According to authorities, the group was founded in November 2020. Its members carried out paramilitary training with firearms and protective equipment, some of which was seized in the raids.

"The use of weapons and military equipment shows how dangerous these right-wing extremists are," said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

The eight arrests were made in several locations in the eastern German state of Saxony and in neighboring Poland. Authorities also searched premises tied to the group's members in Austria.

The group's alleged leader, Jörg Zgorzelec, was arrested in Poland. German news agency DPA reported that the oldest suspect was 25 years old.

Later on Tuesday, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that one of the suspects, identified as Kurt H., was a politician with the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. He belongs to the city council in Grimma, Saxony, where the AfD came in a strong second place in recent state elections.

The prosecutor's office said there had been an injury during one of the arrests and that the circumstances were still being investigated. Several German media outlets including public broadcaster ARD reported that Kurt H. was wounded in the jaw after police fired a warning shot.

Several right-wing groups in Germany are preoccupied with the so-called collapse, or "day X." Most famously the group led by former soldier Franco A., whose plot to assassinate left-leaning politicians came to light in 2018.

zc, es/sms (AP, AFP, dpa)