The group viewed themselves as the final option for safeguarding the “German nation” and sought to cause the downfall of the democratic system in Germany.
In Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday, police apprehended five teenagers linked to a right-wing extremist organization known as “Last Defense Wave.” Their alleged goal was to disrupt the democratic structure of the country by perpetrating assaults on migrants and political adversaries.
The early-morning arrests in various parts of Germany were accompanied by searches at 13 properties, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Four of the individuals — only identified as Benjamin H., Ben-Maxim H., Lenny M., and Jason R. to comply with privacy regulations in Germany — are suspected of belonging to a domestic terrorist group. The fifth teenager, Jerome M., is charged with providing assistance to the organization. Additionally, two of the detainees face allegations of attempted homicide and severe arson. The age range of all involved parties is between 14 and 18 years old.
Prosecutors said they are also investigating three other people, ages 18 to 21, who are already in custody. All the suspects are German citizens.
According to the prosecutors, the group was formed in mid-April 2024 or earlier. They said that its members saw themselves as the last resort to defend the “German nation” and aimed to bring about the collapse of Germany’s democratic order, with attacks on homes for asylum-seekers and on facilities associated with the left-wing political spectrum.
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 escaped injury only 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, prosecutors said.
Also in January, three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on a home for asylum-seekers in Senftenberg, but it never came about because of the earlier arrests of two of the men.
Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said it was “particularly shocking” that all of those arrested 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.
In a separate case a week ago, German authorities banned a far-right group called “Kingdom of Germany” as a threat to the country’s democratic order and arrested four of its alleged leaders.
In an annual report released Tuesday, the Federal Criminal Police Office said that the number of violent crimes with a right-wing motivation was up 17.2% last year to 1,488. That was part of an overall increase in violent politically motivated offenses to 4,107, an increase of 15.3%.
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