Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – After the major raids in several federal states, the Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) praised the work of the investigators, but at the same time warned of the danger posed by the Reich citizen scene. “The action that took place today was a large-scale, precise and successful blow against right-wing extremism and right-wing terrorism, in which Reich citizens and self-government cavort,” said Strobl in Stuttgart. The searches showed that the security authorities were networked nationwide and were working successfully.
“Reich citizens” are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic and its democratic structures. The protection of the constitution counts around 21,000 supporters in the scene, in Baden-Württemberg there are said to be 3,800.
On Wednesday, the federal prosecutor arrested suspects in eleven federal states as well as in Italy and Austria, eight of them in the southwest. The accused are said to have formed a terrorist organization that allegedly wanted to overthrow the political system in Germany.
According to Strobl, several hundred emergency services were deployed in Baden-Württemberg under the direction of the State Criminal Police Office and with the support of the regional police headquarters and the police headquarters. “The investigations are based to a large extent on the findings of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Baden-Württemberg,” said the Minister of the Interior.
Not only the searches showed how dangerous the scene was. “The Reich citizen scene is a serious threat,” said Strobl. Similar to right-wing extremists, the milieu has a high affinity for firearms.
