Another blow against right-wing extremist group "Knockout 51"

Police and justice - Another blow against right-wing extremist group "Knockout 51"

Thejudiciary and police have once again taken action against the right-wing extremist martial arts group "Knockout 51". Three arrests were made this morning in connection with investigations into the group, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Public Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe on Thursday. Two people were arrested for their alleged membership of "Knockout 51", the third man for his alleged support of the group. Four properties in Thuringia were searched. According to dpa information, these searches took place in Erfurt and Eisenach.

In recent years, right-wing extremists who were particularly willing to use violence had gathered in the ranks of"Knockout 51". The group was mainly active in the Eisenach area. Knockout 51" was a right-wing extremist martial arts group "which attracted young, nationalist-minded men under the guise of joint physical training, deliberately indoctrinated them with right-wing extremist ideas and trained them for physical confrontations with police officers, members of the left-wing political scene and other people considered worth fighting", according to a statement from the Federal Public Prosecutor General.

Alleged ringleader arrested

According to the Federal Public Prosecutor General, one of those now arrested is said to have been one of the group's leading figures. He had founded "Knockout 51" at the latest in March 2019 together with three of the four defendants against whom a major state security trial has been ongoing at the Jena Higher Regional Court for several weeks. The man allegedly trained members and candidates of the group in their right-wing extremist ideology and also led so-called "neighborhood patrols".

The man who was arrested as a supporter of "Knockout 51" is a long-standing leading figure in the far-right scene throughout Germany. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor General, he is suspected of having provided the "Flieder Volkshaus" property in Eisenach as a training location for "Knockout 51". "He also made a room there available to them as a weapons store", according to the statement.

Deadly attack planned

The third person arrested is said to have joined the group in March 2019 and taken part in martial arts and shooting training. Together with the now arrested alleged ringleader, he is said to have planned to carry out a deadly attack on left-wing extremists in September 2021. The plan failed. He was supposed to drive a car into the opponents.

The three detainees are to be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice later today. According to reports, officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office, special forces from the Federal Police and police officers from Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt were involved in their arrest.

Classification as a terrorist organization

The investigations against "Knockout 51" are not complete even with these searches and arrests, said the spokeswoman in Karlsruhe. Contrary to the preliminary legal opinion of the Jena Higher Regional Court, the Federal Public Prosecutor General still classifies "Knockout 51" as a terrorist organization.

Four alleged members of "Knockout 51" are currently on trial before the Jena Higher Regional Court. Among other things, the men had planned to kill their political opponents by using knives, axes and machetes, it was said during the reading of the indictment. They had already possessed such weapons. The court had only admitted the charges against the men on the condition that "Knockout 51" would at least temporarily only be classified as a criminal and not a terrorist organization.

The defendants had remained silent at the start of the trial. Later, the defense lawyer of the main defendant demanded the end of the proceedings against his client. The court rejected this request.

Investigators last took action against the group at the end of November with a major operation in Thuringia and Hesse. The main focus of the measures was Eisenach, while other properties were searched in the Jena area and in Bad Wildungen in Hesse, according to the Thuringia State Criminal Police Office (LKA) and the public prosecutor's office in Gera.