German police smash extremist group targeting politicians
Apr 14, 2022
Berlin [Germany], April 14 (ANI/Xinhua): In a large-scale operation, German police smashed a right-wing extremist group that planned attacks against the state and politicians, authorities of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate said on Thursday.
By destroying infrastructure for power supply, the group called Vereinte Patrioten (United Patriots) wanted to cause "civil war-like conditions" and overthrow the political system in Germany, according to a joint statement by the Koblenz Prosecutor General's Office and the Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office (LKA).
The raid in several German states resulted in the seizure of weapons and small assets as well as the arrest of four suspects aged between 41 and 55. The men were also associated with protests against governmental COVID-19 measures, according to the statement.
"Some COVID-19 deniers are not about fighting vaccinations or COVID-19 requirements. They are fighting against our basic democratic order," German Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, who was reported to be a potential target for kidnapping by the group, told the Bild newspaper.
"But they will not succeed with that. I will not be put off by this, but will continue to stand up for the entire population," Lauterbach added. (ANI/Xinhua)
