Raid against "Reichsbürger": Strobl praises cooperation
According to Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU), the renewed raid against the "Reichsbürger" scene is due to good cross-state cooperation. Strobl said on Thursday in Stuttgart that the raids clearly and unmistakably showed: "We are not letting up in the fight against extremism. We are taking a very close look. We won't give an inch here." The nationwide investigations also showed that the security authorities are working together in a network and with the utmost determination to protect our society, our democracy and our shared values.
Around 280 officers searched 20 homes in eight federal states on Thursday morning in connection with investigations into suspected members of the scene. The 20 suspects, aged between 25 and 74, are accused of forming a criminal organization, as Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann and Bavaria's Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (both CSU) announced. Specifically, the charges relate to threats against employees of state institutions. The alleged ringleader, who is said to have operated one of the group's Telegram channels, had already been arrested at the end of 2021.
Ten searches were carried out in the southwest. During the raids, officers were deployed in Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and Hamburg. According to Herrmann, a blank-firing weapon, irritant devices, smartphones and data carriers were seized. "Weapons were not among them," the ministries stated in the press release.
The raid on suspected "Reichsbürger" members highlighted the commitment of various police forces in combating extremism and crime, demonstrating no compromise in this fight. The investigations revealed that these individuals were accused of forming a criminal organization, with threats against state institution employees as the primary charge.
Source: www.dpa.com
