The traffic light wants to counter the threat from “Reich citizens” with stricter gun laws. Interior Minister Faeser says maximum pressure from the authorities is needed. The connections to the AfD are also a cause for concern. Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Pistorius calls for a closer look.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser warns loudly of a growing danger from the “Reichsbürger” scene. “We are not dealing with harmless cranks, but with terror suspects who are all in custody now,” says the SPD politician in the “Bild am Sonntag” with regard to the nationwide raids of the past week.
According to the SPD politician in the report, the number of people who the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution assigns to the “Reichsbürger” milieu has risen by 2000 to 23,000 compared to the previous year. 239 acts of violence by “Reich citizens” were registered last year. More than 1,000 “Reich citizens” have already had their gun permits withdrawn. According to Faeser, the maximum pressure from all authorities is needed for this, so the government will shortly further tighten gun laws.
According to the report, traffic light politicians are concerned about the security of parliament and are calling for the security concept of the Bundestag to be reconsidered in the face of an arrested former AfD member of parliament who was still in possession of a Bundestag ID card. The Union faction calls for a current hour on the danger of terrorism.
Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized the overlap between the AfD and “Reich citizens”. “Reich citizen does not automatically mean AfD and vice versa. But there are big overlaps – from the rejection of our state to the pro-Russian attitude to hostility towards America,” he told the “Bild am Sonntag”. The AfD always manages to generate fuel for its own politics from such movements. “That’s why we have to take it seriously and look very closely at the AfD, which is a catalyst.”
Pistorius said: “I think the AfD is largely right-wing extremist.” Even in state associations like in Lower Saxony, which a few years ago were still considered relatively moderate, there is a “clear movement” towards right-wing extremism. The time for a ban on the AfD has not yet come. “But we have to look, check and collect so that we don’t miss the point,” said Pistorius.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is keeping an eye on the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist. A complaint by the AfD against this classification was decided in the first instance in favor of the protection of the constitution. The AfD has appealed.
The federal prosecutor’s office had 25 people arrested in a raid against the “Reichsbürger” scene on Wednesday. She accuses 22 of those arrested of being a member of a terrorist organization that wanted to overthrow the political system in Germany. Three other arrested are considered supporters. The 23 suspects arrested in Germany have been in custody since Thursday. Among them is a former member of the Bundestag for the AfD.
