Plot to kidnap German minister sees 4 far-right anti-Covid lockdown protesters arrested
- Suspects are accused of ‘preparing explosive attacks and other acts of violence’ and ‘kidnapping of well-known public figures’ including the health minister
- Group intended to destroy power supply facilities to cause a prolonged nationwide blackout to incite civil war and ‘overthrow the democratic system’
German investigators on Thursday said they had arrested four members of a far-right anti-lockdown group with pro-Russian leanings for planning violent attacks, including a plot to kidnap the country’s health minister.
The suspects from the Vereinte Patrioten (United Patriots) group are accused of “preparing explosive attacks and other acts of violence” as well as the “kidnapping of well-known public figures”, prosecutors in Koblenz said in a joint statement with the Rhineland-Palatinate police.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach confirmed he was among their targets and had received police protection.
The main aim of the group was to “destroy power supply facilities to cause a prolonged nationwide blackout”, the investigators said. “This was intended to cause civil warlike conditions and ultimately overthrow the democratic system in Germany,” they said.
Investigators had identified five German suspects aged between 41 and 55 and on Wednesday carried out searches leading to four arrests and the seizure of around two dozen guns, including a Kalashnikov.
Police also found ammunition, around 8,900 euros (US$9,700) in cash, gold bars and silver coins and foreign currency worth more than 10,000 euros. They also seized forged Covid-19 vaccination certificates, as well as several written documents about the group’s plans to overthrow the state.
The Vereinte Patrioten group includes members of the far-right Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich), who reject Germany’s democratic institutions, as well as opponents of the government’s antivirus measures, the prosecutors said.