Germany arrests five teenagers over alleged right-wing extremist plot and attacks
The early morning arrests across several states in Germany followed raids on 13 properties associated with the self-styled "The Last Wave of Defense", federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Four of those arrested — identified only as Benjamin H, Ben-Maxim H, Lenny M and Jason R, in line with German privacy rules — are suspected of membership of a domestic terror organization. The fifth, Jerome M, is accused of supporting the group.
Two of the individuals are also accused of attempted murder and aggravated arson. All five are between the ages of 14 and 18.
Prosecutors said they are also investigating three other people, between the ages of 18 and 21, who are already in custody. All of the suspects are German citizens.
The extremist group was formed in April 2024, according to prosecutors. They said its members saw themselves as the last resort to defend the "German nation" and aimed to destabilize Germany's democratic order, with attacks on homes for asylum seekers and on facilities associated with the left-wing political spectrum.
Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said it was "particularly shocking" that all of those arrested on Wednesday were minors at the time the group was allegedly founded.
"This is an alarm signal and it shows that right-wing extremist terrorism knows no age," Hubig said in a statement.
Two of the suspects set a fire at a cultural center in Altdöbern in eastern Germany in October, prosecutors said, adding that several people living in the building at the time only escaped injury by chance.
In January, another two suspects allegedly broke a window at a home for asylum seekers in Schmölln and tried unsuccessfully to start a blaze by setting off fireworks.
They daubed the group's initials and slogans such as "Foreigners out", "Germany for the Germans" and "Nazi area," as well as swastikas, according to prosecutors.
Separately that month, three suspects had allegedly planned an arson attack on a home for asylum seekers in Senftenberg, but did not carry it out because of the earlier arrests of two of the men.
In a different case last week, authorities banned a far-right group called "Kingdom of Germany" as a threat to the country's democracy and arrested four of its alleged leaders.
An annual report released this week by the Federal Criminal Police Office showed that the number of violent crimes with a right-wing motivation rose 17.2% last year to 1,488.
That was part of an overall increase in violent, politically motivated offenses to 4,107, a year-on-year increase of 15.3%. — Euronews
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