Germany's federal police have arrested a suspect in right-wing extremism on charges of conspiring to murder more than a dozen politicians and public figures, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
The suspect was identified by authorities as 49-year-old Martin S., who holds German and Polish citizenship. According to a statement from Germany's federal prosecutor's office, he is accused of financing terrorism, instructing others to commit serious acts of violence, creating a threat to the state, and disseminating personal data that poses a danger to the state.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, the suspect allegedly circulated a list of targets through a darknet site, which included former German chancellors Olaf Scholz and Angela Merkel, and also collected donations to pay bounties for assassinations.
The arrest took place on Monday evening in the western city of Dortmund by federal police officers and the GSG 9 special unit.
Addition
The fight against political extremism has gained particular relevance in Germany after right-wing extremist crime increased by 48% last year, reaching almost 43,000 cases. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government has pledged to take a tougher stance on extremists.
In Germany, as the publication writes, an anti-system movement is actively operating. In May, hundreds of German law enforcement officers attacked the "Kingdom of Germany" - the largest group of the "Reichsbürger" movement, which rejects the legitimacy of the democratic state and seeks to restore the German Empire, the publication writes. In 2022, authorities detained 25 people on suspicion of planning to overthrow the democratic order.