Group S.

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The "Group S." , named after the founder Werner S. (partly also named after its leadership group "The Hard Core" ), was an alleged right-wing terrorist group in Germany , which emerged on the Internet in September 2019 and was arrested in February 2020 some members was crushed. According to the results of the investigation so far, they had armed themselves in a few months, held target practice and planned assassinations against Muslims in mosques , prominent politicians and members of the Bundestag, as well as people close to the Antifa .

Members

According to a press release from the Attorney General of February 14, 2020, the S. group had twelve German members, including Werner S., Michael B., Thomas N. and Tony E. as the main suspects, as well as Thorsten W., Ulf R., Wolfgang W., Markus K., Frank H., Marcel W., Stefan K. and Steffen B. as supporters of a terrorist organization. Another member of the group had been a police informant since October 2019 and was not arrested. The group's WhatsApp chat included at least 15 people, five of whom described themselves as “hard core”. Two more men are said to have left the group soon. Security authorities suspect the group had a total of around 24 members and a large number of supporters.

Main suspects

Werner S. was 53 years old when he was arrested and was nicknamed "Teutonico" in the right-wing extremist scene. The investigators consider him the "undisputed head" of the tightly organized group and has therefore been classified as a threat several months before his arrest . He lived in Mickhausen in the Augsburg district and is said to have coordinated the group meetings. According to media research, he has nine previous convictions, for example for fraud, extortion, abuse of titles and wearing dangerous quartz gloves at a right-wing demonstration. In 2007 he was on an internal list of interested parties of the NPD in Munich . In 2017 he contacted the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and showed interest in the party. He is a trained restorer and had only moved to Mickhausen a few years before his arrest. There he is said to have remained largely unknown and poorly in contact. He called himself "Werner Schmidt" on Facebook . Many of his around 200 Facebook friends shared symbols of neo-Nazism . One was an AfD functionary, another administrative officer in the district of Börde (Saxony-Anhalt). In December 2019 a Facebook friend wrote: “The time is near when the spirits of the ancestors will rise and fight with and for Germania's freedom.” Werner S. replied: “Ready, comrade !!” After his previous Facebook account had been deleted, he threatened : "A joke, but wait a little longer, then these Cretinos run around without hands." He also posted an emoji with crossed swords. He is said to have made many contacts through the " Freikorps Heimat" chat group . Even the historically loaded name expressed the intention to do away with democracy. In the monitored phone calls and chats he threatened after a speech by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier : “This traitor” will “pay”. He also posted a knife symbol.

Michael B. (48) is a family man from Kirchheim unter Teck and was known as an athlete in the city. He had been running a two-man business for small orders in the metal industry for three years. His business partner was completely surprised by his arrest. Nothing is known about weapons found by Michael B.

Thomas N. from Minden worked as a tiler. He had covered his company car with a black, white and red imperial flag. On his Facebook profile, like the Reich Citizens' Movement , he held the federal government illegally in office, called Chancellor Angela Merkel a “criminal creature”, warned against alleged chemtrails , criticized the so-called guilt cult and wrote, among other things: “Resistance is the only way! We remain indomitable. We will have to fight, we will meet in Valhalla . ”About the Antifa he wrote:“ It is time to clean up this dirt. ”Shortly before his arrest, he shared a fan page of the association“ Wodans Erben Germanien ”.

Tony E. (39) from Lüneburg only moved to Wriedel in the Uelzen district a few months ago . He worked on construction sites in Dubai . In his private life he collected weapons to "defend Germany". On his Facebook profile he gathered names and groups popular among German right-wing extremists, including the former President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maaßen , Brigade 8 , the German Defense League and the Uniter association . He was part of the “Freikorps Heimatschutz”, which is connected to other Freikorps groups in Germany and presents itself as follows: “The members of this group are preparing for the day when there will be a war and the defense of our families and the fatherland goes. The FRG administration no longer sees itself responsible for this. ”When Tony Es was arrested, well-known neo-Nazis from Hamburg, Harburg and Lüneburg traveled to support him and threatened local residents and journalists.

Alleged supporters

Thorsten W. was an employee of the police administration in Hamm ( North Rhine-Westphalia ) until February 2020 . In 2013 and 2014 he worked in the area of ​​“gun permits” at the police headquarters and was involved in checking who can get a gun license. Most recently he worked in the traffic department. In his spare time he often dressed like a Germanic warrior and had himself photographed with a sword and a rune-adorned shield. One of his social media profiles contained numerous images of swastikas and SS symbols. From 2018 it was noticed that Thorsten W. hoisted a Reich war flag on his balcony, wore clothing brands typical for the right-wing scene and had attached the sticker “Do not throw in a lying press ” on his doorbell . He read the new right weekly newspaper " Junge Freiheit " and decorated the interior of his car with an imperial eagle as a sticker. According to SWR research, in March 2018 he shared a quotation board with a picture of a pistol and the text: “Dear police officer, this is your service weapon! It's not just there to look at, it's supposed to protect you and us and that's why you should finally use it! If you don't want to and can't do that, give them to us, we will certainly use them against every rabble! Greetings, your people and employer! ”In October 2019 he shared the following quote:“ We have to carry out terrorist attacks from time to time in which uninvolved people die. This allows the entire state and the entire population to be controlled. The primary target of such an attack is not the dead, but the survivors, because they have to be directed and influenced. ”These right-wing extremist signals had no disciplinary consequences for him.

Thomas N's Facebook friend Markus K. (35) from Minden is a long-time neo-Nazi who is said to have belonged to the organization team of several right-wing extremist demonstrations in Bad Nenndorf . On May 1, 2009, he was involved in an attack by hundreds of neo-Nazis on a DGB rally in Dortmund , as well as Stephan Ernst, the alleged main culprit in the Walter Lübcke murder case , and Markus H., his possible murder assistant.

Several members had contacts with the right-wing extremist “ Soldiers of Odin ” (SOO), who had formed “ vigilante groups ” for street patrols against alleged attacks by asylum seekers in Finland since 2015 . Steffen B. from the Salzlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt showed a photo of patrolling men in frocks with the Vikings group logo on his Facebook profile. He and Stefan K. were among the regional leaders of the right-wing extremist "Vikings Security Germania", which had split off from the "Soldiers of Odin" and, according to the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, sometimes appeared martial and violent. According to research by the MDR , Steffen B. and Stefan K. took part in a neo-Nazi torch relay in Magdeburg in November 2018 , which "Viking Security Germania" had called for. They had contacts with militant criminals, including those with a criminal record (Per M., Hagen G.) of the East German neo-Nazi scene and the rocker scene. Steffen B. called Angela Merkel a terrorist chancellor who “bathes in the blood of Germans”. Stefan K's Facebook profile featured the Black Sun , an SS symbol popular with neo-Nazis. You and other members supported animal welfare initiatives in social networks.

Frank H. from Munich- Laim called himself “President” of the right-wing extremist and “Wodans Erben Germanien”, who were classified as violent and emerged from the “Soldiers of Odin” in Bavaria. His group came in 2019 in a Moosacherstrasse asylum seeker accommodation one, demonstrated in front of the Munich synagogue , marched with torches to the former Nazi party rally grounds of the Nazi Party and historic Nazi buildings. Weapons are said not to have been found on him. The police checked Frank K. during the torchlight march in Nuremberg .

Marcel W. from the district of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm , operator of an Internet mail order company, was also a member of “Wodan's Erben” and referred to himself as “Sergeant at Arms”, the one who was responsible for the order and security of the group. After his posts he knew "Teutonico". One member had ties to the band Frei.Wild , which was temporarily close to right-wing rock , another was in contact with the former NPD boss Udo Voigt . Other members were related to the “German-German Cultural Association”, “Freikorps Heimatschutz”, “Freikorps Deutschland” and similar neo-Nazi groups. A member from Koblenz posted in 2018 on the Russian platform vk.com that Muslims had to be removed from the world: "It's time people, otherwise we are history."

The future police informant had spent more than 20 years in various prisons, psychiatric clinics and penal institutions, but was never noticed by politically motivated crime until 2017 . He was imprisoned for several years, among other things, for robbery and the taking of a police officer, where he was found to be violent. He was released in spring 2017. He is said to have taken part in conspiratorial meetings of the "Wodans Erben Germania" for a long time, which took place in an animal shelter in his neighborhood. According to his own information, in the summer of 2019 he got in touch with "Teutonico" in a right-wing extremist chat group, who was looking for patriots who were ready to fight and who was determined to do everything. After a few weeks, Werner S.'s radicalization became uncanny, so he contacted the security authorities and reported on the terrorist plans.

Marion G., a trained hairdresser from a small town in Franconia , radicalized herself after researching the time since the refugee crisis in Germany from 2015 . She was 50 years old at the time, did not know any refugees, but, according to her own statements, feared attacks on herself and her children and wanted to "have her peace again". From summer 2018 she organized demonstrations of the yellow vests in Nuremberg. In 2019 she was a speaker at an unannounced demonstration in Nuremberg, in which local neo-Nazis also took part. In social networks she openly sympathizes with right-wing extremists, posts their symbols and pictures, expresses right-wing violent fantasies and a mix of conspiracy theories . She later linked the Facebook pages of “Wodans Erben Germanien” and “Unyielding Patriotic Resistance” and posted slogans on the net like: “My mother is the language, my father is the country. For the future of my family I am resisting ”. In photographs she wore a sweater with the imperial eagle of the Nazi era , in an interview in March 2020 a Thor's hammer as a necklace and a lighter with the inscription " Waffen-SS ". In Bavaria, she rented a piece of land with a hut in the forest, which she called a “base”, and had her masked and photographed in camouflage clothing. According to a presumed supporter, the hut was supposed to be a “retreat point” for the S. group. In response to the attack in Hanau in 2020 (February 19), she wrote on the Internet that she did not mourn the victims, but rather “our home and culture. Let me tell you we will get up and then run as fast as you can. Because nothing and nobody will stop us for this day, I live to bring us Germans back to their homeland! "

Jürgen K. registered for the first time in a chat in the S. group at the end of July 2019 and introduced himself as a native of Brandenburg who had been living in Poland for more than twelve years. He works there as an industrial electrician and sits on the local council as a non-party member. He sent a picture to show plastic explosives. This is distributed all over his house; whoever wanted to arrest him there would experience a "bombshell" surprise. Shortly thereafter, he shared a photograph of himself with a Czech “Scorpion” submachine gun. He also stated that he jumped from planes and helicopters several times. As a profile picture on social media, he used the symbol of the paratrooper battalion 263, a red scorpion on a blue background. He followed AfD politicians on Facebook and showed his house number “88”, a neo-Nazi code for the Hitler salute. Until the end of 2019 he was at least active in the chat groups “Der harte Kern”, “Untergrund Deutscher Patrioten” and in a group for recruiting new members. Internally, he was considered reliable, also because he had been trained in weapons with the Bundeswehr . In a telegram chat of the group, he commented on a video of black subway drivers who allegedly pushed a white woman: A partially sheathed bullet would be enough for them. In September 2019, he took part in a meeting of eight members of the “Der harte Kern” group in Heilbronn, which was monitored by German authorities. As an IT expert, he was supposed to develop language codes and was therefore included in a telegram group for overturning plans. In a bugged conversation he discussed his language codes with Marion G. G. emphasized several times that K's system was not understandable for everyone. K. ended the conversation with the note: "If anyone overhears, this is a satirical broadcast." From November 2019 he wrote less and less in the chat groups and no longer took part in the meeting at the end of 2019, where the group carried out attacks in six mosques and bought weapons at the same time planned in the Czech Republic.

According to research by the ARD magazine Monitor , most of the members come from right-wing extremist "brotherhoods" and "vigilante groups" throughout Germany:

  • "Wodan's heirs Germania" (Werner S., Frank H., Marcel W.),
  • "Freikorps Heimatschutz Division 2016 - the original" (Werner S., Tony E., Thomas N., Wolfgang W.),
  • "Vikings Security Germania" (Steffen B., Stefan K.),
  • "Brotherhood of Germany" (Paul-Ludwig U.). Their leader Richard L. wanted to take part in a meeting of the S. group.

Werner S. recruited fellow campaigners from this environment and formed chat groups. One of them had 35 members at times, but so far they have not been charged with terrorist support and only occasionally have been heard as witnesses. At least 20 such clandestine groups are known nationwide. Its members distinguish themselves from other right-wing extremists through uniform clothing, often rocker-like robes, and often behave particularly aggressively and violently at demonstrations. You are currently also active in protests against corona measures . For some years now, the German security authorities have seen these groups as “approaches to right-wing terrorist potential” and a “smooth transition to violent behavior”, but no nationwide networking.

Recruiting on the Internet

From autumn 2018, Marion G. founded closed groups on Facebook for “comrades who didn't just want to chat”. From January 2019 she founded the chat group “Der harte Kern” and other chat groups on the telegram messenger service popular with right-wing extremists , from which group S emerged. In the summer of 2019, she invited Werner S., who was previously unknown to her, to her group of yellow vests. He later took over her first Telegram chat group as a moderator. According to investigators, the later members of the S. group used at least 13 chat rooms on Telegram, with names such as "Admission group of the upright group", "Meeting room" or "Tutto Ramazotti".

In these chat groups and by telephone, Werner S. looked for men who were ready to kill and, if necessary, also to die themselves. You should be “intelligent, tough, brutal, quick, brisk” and trust yourself to “do a little more than just take part in demonstrations”. 2020 will be the year in which there are “no more excuses” and action will take place. He evidently recruited fellow campaigners who were prepared to use violence in very different milieus, in Facebook and Telegram groups, vigilante groups, rocker clubs, among Reich citizens and "Germanic peoples" who are united by their hatred of foreigners, refugees and Muslims. In the intercepted phone calls and chats, he and his interlocutors showed a mixture of imperial bourgeoisie, Germanic warrior mythology , sheer racism and hatred of foreigners. Like Islamists, they talked about "explosive vests". One said he was ready to "let go of his life", another that he was "a pagan who would like to go to Valhall". The Federal Prosecutor's Office is therefore convinced that Werner S. recruited them for the "armed struggle" and founded a right-wing extremist terror group. According to the investigators' findings, he initially planned to use online recruitment to build an "underground army" modeled on the right-wing radical "Freikorps" in the Weimar Republic .

In their chats, the group is also said to have shared photographs of weapons they made themselves. There fantasies of violence were exchanged. The family fathers in the group are also said not to have expressed any qualms about killing Muslim children and also to have developed the scenario of suicide campaigns. The members are said to have assured each other that they could mobilize hundreds to thousands of armed like-minded people after the expected reactions to their attacks.

According to Marion G., there were also chat groups for male members only. Thorsten W. in particular spurred the group on repeatedly and kept saying: "If there's war, I'll be in the front row"; he will not go back to prison. The participants were preppers and hoarded supplies. She had a particularly close relationship with Werner S., but never exchanged ideas with him or other chat members about weapons and attack plans. The arrest of Werner S. surprised her; then she deleted her chats from the cell phone.

The participants quickly radicalized themselves in the intercepted conversations and chat messages. They spoke of preparing for "war" to defend their families and the country. They thought they were in a state of emergency with which they become vigilante authorized to protect against hundreds of thousands of allegedly "Unreported migrants".

First meeting

In September 2019 Marion G. organized a first meeting for the members of her chat groups in Heilbronn. 17 men and women took part. Some brought prep equipment, others their children, some wore camouflage, one wore a shoulder holster. They threw axes at trees or practiced archery, but according to Marion G. they have not yet talked about attacks. According to later investigations, attacks in Germany and France are said to have been discussed there in order to overthrow the government. It was proposed to split the group into a political and a military arm along the lines of the IRA in Northern Ireland .

Barbecue area at the Vaihinghöfer Sägmühle near Alfdorf. Place of the second group meeting.

On September 28, 2019, the right-wing extremists recruited by Werner S. met at a barbecue area at the Hummelgautsche sawmill in Alfdorf . A mobile police force observed the meeting. Werner S. is said to have indicated to the other participants that there were contacts with authorities, including the police, so that members of the group could be checked. According to SWR, 15 men and one woman (Marion G.) took part. Among them were seven so-called preppers and right-wing activists from eastern Baden-Württemberg who prepared for possible disasters and carried out survival training in their free time. They come from, among others, Alfdorf, Ellwangen , Mosbach , Niefern-Öschelbronn , Nürtingen , Kirchheim and Marbach am Neckar . Those involved brought firearms, including loaded pistols, and showed them to each other. The Marbacher is said to have shown a Russian military pistol, the Kirchheimer a self-made firearm. With their weapons they completed shooting and throwing exercises on the barbecue area near Alfdorf. Photographs of the meeting show the participants armed with battle axes and knives, most of them in clothing with symbols of the right-wing scene. The group is said to have already discussed attacks at this meeting and considered the politicians Robert Habeck and Anton Hofreiter ( Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen ) and mosques as possible targets . Their main aim was therefore to provoke a civil war . A friend of the Kirchheimer from Nürtingen, who was also present, confirmed the target practice to the SWR. He believed it was just another of the many prepper meetings that both of them had previously attended. He had heard nothing of attack plans. At this meeting, those involved are said to have promised up to 5000 euros per person for the joint project. One man is said to have claimed that he could alert more than 2,000 other men, some of whom were armed. The informant was there too. He posed with a long knife in the group photo and is said to have received the order to recruit other right-wing extremists for terrorist plans. He was already in contact with the violence-prone " Brotherhood of Germany " and promoted the S. group there by emphasizing the radicalism of their leader: Werner S. was "the one with the explosive vest". In October 2019 he wrote in a chat with other members of the group: “I can't kill every nigger I see! I would like to, but that is still to come. ”He wrote of Muslims:“ Zack into the camp ! And goodbye!"

At the end of September 2019, Tony E. demonstrated in Hamburg with the "Patriots for Germany". On October 3, 2019, Werner S., Tony E., Marion G. and other members of Group S met at a demonstration by right-wing extremists and "Reich citizens" in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin . Thomas N. and Steffen B. were also there, as a group photo in front of the Brandenburg Gate shows. At a police checkpoint prohibited was found in Werner S. quartz gloves . He then sent an email with photos of self-made "slam guns". The police informant also drove to the Berlin meeting. On the way there, he had to hand in an illegal gas pistol at a police checkpoint.

In the weeks that followed, Tony E. helped Werner S. recruit other right-wing extremists for Group S, including members of the “Brotherhood of Germany”, which is mainly active in North Rhine-Westphalia. After tapping the phone calls, Tony E. Werner S. announced on November 7th, 2019 that he had cancer , so that "doors to a wide range of leeway" were open to him. He told an acquaintance that the days of vigilante groups were over and that we were much further. At the end of December Werner S. explained to a comrade that one had to fight now and “write history”. The man told another comrade that civil war would break out in Germany as early as 2020. At the beginning of January 2020 Werner S. asked in the Telegramchats: “Is there anyone in the group, initially male, who (...) dares to do something 'more' than participating in demonstrations and the like? Because this year there are no more excuses, there is action! ”On January 22nd he wrote:“ Over bread and wine, 'war' is discussed! The risk becomes high, a change in the life of every individual is possibly or even presumably on the agenda! "

Notice plans

On February 7th and 8th, 2020, more than ten members and supporters of the group met in Minden. The security authorities observed the meeting at great expense. Werner S. wrote to the participants beforehand that they wanted to discuss the "war". Those who can't cope with that have no business there. The meeting took place in Thomas N.'s apartment. The police informant was there and stated that this time, for the first time, there had been more specific discussions about attack plans and targets. Werner S. announced that he would attack Muslims in five or six mosques in several federal states with weapons. This will trigger counter-reactions on the Muslim side and a "domino effect" and ultimately lead to civil war-like conditions. Mosques with imams from Turkey should preferably be attacked. Werner S. is said to have said that one could not take women or children into consideration. He is said to have outlined his plans to target Muslims during Friday prayers . A few days later, he is said to have spoken of "commands" in an intercepted phone call that were supposed to strike in up to "ten federal states". After the intercepted conversations, the members wanted to commit simultaneous attacks against at least ten mosques in Germany. According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, Werner S. described the alleged attack plans as follows: “Ten men, ten federal states, done. Or maybe only five, if there are two groups. ”In addition, the members discussed assassinations of black Africans, whom they called“ soft ”targets, and German politicians like Robert Habeck and Anton Hofreiter, whom they called“ hard ”targets. A prime suspect claimed that the days of vigilante groups were over and that they were much further along; he is ready to sacrifice his life.

Enemy lists with thousands of names and addresses of alleged anti-fascist activists have been drawn up for further attack targets . It was also agreed that each group member should pay 5000 euros into a group fund to purchase weapons. Wolfgang W. is said to have offered to procure bulletproof vests through his contacts in the Bundeswehr. Self-made “slam guns” should be used for attacks. The participant Frank H. is said to have stated that he knows two routes through the Czech Republic that are not controlled by the police and that he can get handguns there. According to the informant, two participants offered to ride a motorcycle to the Czech Republic to obtain Tokarev TT-33 pistols . Another man said he could get hand grenades. At this meeting, Thorsten W. offered 5,000 euros, if necessary more, for the purchase of weapons and ammunition. He didn't want to take care of it himself. The mosques should be stormed with hand grenades and long guns in early March 2020. Two days after the meeting, Werner S. said to Tony E. on the phone: “You can do that with ten good men. [...] Ten men, ten federal states, done. "

According to later investigation files, the group members already had 27 weapons requiring a license, mainly pistols from the Russian manufacturers Makarov and Tokarev. Werner S. also wanted to buy a Kalashnikov assault rifle with 2,000 rounds of ammunition, an Uzi submachine gun and hand grenades from other right-wing extremists such as André Mike B. from the "Soldiers of Odin" in order to murder members of the Bundestag. In a chat group he wrote that one wanted to “switch off” all politicians in the Reichstag “in one fell swoop” with the “right training and an excellent, well-engineered concept”. With a militia of "around 1,000 men", he wanted to "put an end to the whole haunt (...) very quickly".

Investigation process

In the early autumn of 2019, the informant warned the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) by email about a group that was planning an attack. When there was no answer, he turned to police stations in three federal states after six weeks. Finally, the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office (LKA) contacted him and gave him a personal contact. He continuously reported to him about violent fantasies, money collections, weapons procurement by the group and other things. He expressed understanding for their anger about the political situation in Germany and shared some of their positions. He stated that a Hessian AfD politician, police chief commissioner from Gießen, had shown him understanding and showed respect for the police in 2019. After a few meetings with him, the LKA founded the special organizational structure (BAO) "Valence" for the investigation. The group has been observing them since October 2019, listening to phone calls and monitoring chat processes. The suspicion of a terrorist cell planning attacks was confirmed. In November 2019, the Federal Prosecutor General Peter Frank initiated the investigation against the alleged core of the group. Until then, the security authorities did not classify any of the 13 suspected group members as a threat, i.e. potentially serious violent offender. In February 2020, they expanded the observation to eight alleged supporters of the group.

The informant stayed with the group until February 2020. On October 2, 2019, the federal police checked him in Heidelberg and found a loaded gas pistol for which he did not have a gun license. He stated that he was an "informant" for the LKA. The police initiated an investigation against him for violating the weapons law. However, the investigators considered his information to be credible and offered him witness protection , but also told him that the Federal Prosecutor had to check his extensive statements before any mitigation of the sentence could be considered.

In February 2020, the investigators lost contact with the informant for several days, so that the LKA feared for its safety and feared spontaneous acts by the group. The Federal Prosecutor then decided to raid its members nationwide.

Gun finds and arrests

On February 14, 2020, the Attorney General had apartments and other rooms searched in 13 locations in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony , North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. The police found depots with supplies and weapons as well as material for unconventional explosive devices and incendiary devices (USBV).

At Werner S. in Mickhausen, the police found a ready-to-fire 9-millimeter pistol with ammunition for it. At Steffen B. in the Salzlandkreis she found a self-made "slam gun" ( shotgun ) and 100 rounds of ammunition for it. At Thomas N. in Minden she found a crossbow , axes, morning stars , 50 stabbing weapons, a revolver, a rifle and several gold and silver bars. The police found sharp weapons on his Facebook friend, warehouse clerk Ulf R. (46) from Porta Westfalica , including several self-made egg grenades . The police found a five-liter canister with hydrogen peroxide and 25 kilograms of fertilizer at Tony E. The investigators checked whether it could be used to make explosives. They also seized 18 cell phones during the raids. After the intercepted conversations and further investigation results, the whole group wanted to equip themselves with large-caliber shotguns (slam guns). The anti-Semite Stephan Balliet also used such a self-made model for the attack in Halle (Saale) in 2019 (October 9).

As a result of the unexpectedly large number of weapons found, the Federal Prosecutor had twelve of the 13 accused arrested on site and submitted arrest warrant applications to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) for them . Three investigating judges had the twelve men brought before them individually on the same day and issued arrest warrants . All twelve were taken into custody . Werner S., Michael B., Thomas N. and Tony E. classify the investigators as the alleged main perpetrators, the eight other members as alleged supporters of the terrorist cell. According to the arrest warrant, the main suspects were planning attacks on politicians, asylum seekers and Muslims in order to "shake and ultimately overcome" the state and social order of the Federal Republic. The Attorney General accuses them of forming a terrorist organization . They were all at the Alfdorf meeting.

According to information from the federal government in April 2020, the informant was not arrested because he had contributed to "initiating criminal procedural measures and preventing the implementation of the attack plans." Compilation of various current and former parliamentarians of the federal and state governments as well as a private person ”discovered and informed those concerned about it.

Although Marion G. had co-founded the S. group, she was neither questioned nor arrested. She was not involved in the specific attack planning in February 2020 and, according to her information, had not known anything about it.

In April 2021, the President of the Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation, Ralf Michelfelder, confirmed the discovery of a very large arsenal in the group and declared: "If the accused had been able to carry out their planned terrorist acts, we would have had a very brutal, very massive killing machine running."

Further investigation

Five days after the arrests, a racist perpetrator shot and killed nine people with a migration background, his mother and himself in the 2020 attack in Hanau (February 19) . was in communication.

The investigators checked the support environment for group S., possible contacts with former or active police officers and soldiers, and tried to identify all the people named in chats and phone calls. This should also include people with “excellent” military training. The investigators assessed the group's attack plans as not yet very specific, for example because the exact locations had not yet been determined. The statement by Werner S. that if necessary thousands of armed fighters could be activated, they saw as mere boasting. The accused's lawyers suspect the informant of suggesting attacks on mosques.

At the end of February, however, an imprisoned supporter of the group testified that the meeting was supposed to initiate a terrorist attack. Werner S. proclaimed it as a prelude to kicking off and determined who was allowed to participate. All participants should have confessed that they would also commit attacks in mosques and would have given 5,000 euros per person to buy weapons. According to Der Spiegel , he initially stated that the meeting in Minden was about looking for places of refuge for a "day X". Weapons were only wanted to protect against foreign clans. When asked by the investigators, he then admitted: Attacks on mosques had also been discussed, including with firearms and arson, so that Muslims would leave Germany. However, he himself wanted nothing to do with deadly violence.

Thorsten W. belonged to the police station in Bockum-Hövel . Internal police investigators checked whether he could have got hold of the submachine guns and ammunition stored there in the vault and whether they were adequately guarded. He was suspended from duty and received a note on the file that he thought like a citizen of the Reich. He is being investigated for using anti-constitutional markings and on suspicion that he may have helped like-minded friends obtain legal firearms. On February 21, 2020, the chief of police in Hamm emphasized that after the previous examination, Thorsten W. had not issued a gun license. However, the references to his right-wing extremist stance should have been put together, disciplinary proceedings had to be initiated and his gun license withdrawn because his required reliability was no longer given. In the course of the internal investigations, the Hamm police came across two other employees who were presumably right-wing. However, they should not have had anything to do with group S. One was a police officer, the other a clerk. Both had expressed right-wing extremism in chats. They were provisionally suspended or exempted in May 2020.

The organized vigilante scene in North Rhine-Westphalia is said to have maintained close contacts with the S. group. This wanted to recruit further terrorists at large demonstrations. The investigators are said to have evidence that more than 1,000 violent right-wing extremists in and around Germany would be willing to take part in an armed struggle.

On April 1, 2020, investigators from Group S. searched five apartments of supporters of the right-wing extremist "Brotherhood of Germany" for illegal weapons. Among them was the apartment of Ralf Nieland, the leader of the brotherhood, in Düsseldorf-Holthausen . According to witness statements, he was in close contact with the S. group, posed in photographs with Tony E. and admitted two contacts with him, but distanced himself from terrorist plans. Tony E., for his part, wore T-shirts from the “Section South” of the Brotherhood.

On May 13, 2020, the Federal Prosecutor's Office and LKA Baden-Württemberg had a forest in Porta Westfalica searched. According to local reports, walkers in the forest near Kleinenbremen had previously discovered a food depot that the investigators assigned to group S. One of the men arrested in February 2020 comes from Kleinenbremen.

According to the Dortmund public prosecutor's office, one of the twelve arrested suspects, 46-year-old Ulf R. from the Minden-Lübbecke district , was found dead on July 15, 2020 in his solitary cell in the Dortmund correctional facility. A death investigation was initiated and an autopsy was ordered.

On October 9, 2020, the Polish police arrested Jürgen K. there after German investigators informed them. An arsenal with 1.2 kilos of TNT , a tear gas grenade, a detonator, ammunition and semi-jacketed bullets, internationally banned as weapons of war , were found in his house .

In February 2021, the Augsburg public prosecutor opened another investigation against Werner S. for attempted incitement to murder. According to research by the SWR , he tried to recruit a contract killer for the police informant in the group in late 2020 while in custody in Augsburg. He was in contact with an alleged Camorra member who is in custody for serious crimes. S. is said to have asked him about a contract killer, offered him 50,000 euros in wages for killing the main witness and named specific ways and people outside of custody through which the contract killer could find out about the victim's lifestyle and receive the wages. After initially being ready to give evidence, the mafia man no longer spoke to the investigators. The Federal Public Prosecutor left the ongoing investigation to the Augsburg public prosecutor's office.

Legal proceedings

On September 16, 2020, a court banned a Minden member of the S. group from possessing license-free weapons, such as gas pistols. The legal battle had been going on years before the man was arrested.

On November 4, 2020, the Attorney General brought charges against the twelve arrested persons at the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court and classified eleven of them as members and one as supporters. As evidence of their right-wing extremist stance, the indictment listed, among other things: Werner S. had previously been involved in right-wing extremist groups that were too lax for him as “gossip patriots”. Therefore, in the summer of 2019, he began to set up a kind of militia via chat groups. He had shown himself to be violent, for example with the statement: He was looking forward to "the many miserable dead bodies next to the curb". He and his comrades-in-arms expressed fantasies of annihilation against refugees, Muslims and blacks; one wrote that he was “in the mood for a massacre”. Many interested people came from right-wing extremist vigilante groups, were citizens of the Reich or had criminal offenses. From 1994, Frank H. from Munich had served a ten-year prison sentence for rape and dangerous bodily harm. Anti-Semitic and racist propaganda material was found on him. Steffen B. wore a tattoo of Adolf Hitler in uniform on his thigh and a swastika on his chest. He had books on " racial science " and an ax with Sigrunen and the word " Aryans ". According to the indictment, the investigators found a swastika made of iron beads, two issues of Hitler's " Mein Kampf " and a supply of ready-made joints at Thorsten W. Since autumn 2019, the group has discussed attacks on green politicians, refugee homes and especially on mosques. The aim was to massively intimidate the population and provoke civil war-like conditions for a hoped-for overthrow of the system. The monitored meeting in Alfdorf was the founding meeting of the terror cell. The attacks had already been specifically planned at the next general meeting: Werner S. had made it clear to his comrades in advance that it was time to act and to discuss the "war"; if you can't stand it, you haven't lost anything at the meeting. He announced a "bestial matter" to a friend. At the Minden meeting, Werner S. presented his plan to attack mosques in smaller towns with better-known imams and to kill the Muslims present. This provokes counter-reactions from Muslims and ultimately a civil war. To this end, the group obtained hand grenades and firearms through contacts with an arms dealer and Czech right-wing extremists. The model was the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch . A group member owned the perpetrator video as well as the perpetrator video from the anti-Semitic attack in Halle (Saale) in 2019 . - Werner S. and other defendants denied planned crimes during their interrogation and described the group as a bunch of dissatisfied knockers and failed existences.

On February 22, 2021, the State Security Senate at the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart admitted charges against all 12 detained members of the group. The main hearing began on April 13, 2021 in Stuttgart-Stammheim with additional security measures.

Classifications

The model for the mass murder plans of the group S. against praying Muslims in mosques was the Christchurch massacre (March 15, 2019, 51 dead). The procurement of self-made "slam guns" was apparently stimulated by the attack in Halle on October 9, 2019 (two dead). The ideological motives and civil war goals of Group S. are also similar to those of the German terrorist groups National Socialist Underground (NSU) and Revolution Chemnitz . Between 2000 and 2007, the NSU murdered nine people with a migration background without being recognized. Similar terrorist plans of the "Revolution Chemnitz" were thwarted by arrests in October 2018. There are also strong similarities to the terror group Oldschool Society : It was also primarily recruited on the Internet, its members came from the rocker- hooligan milieu throughout Germany and exchanged information on weapons and terrorist targets in chat groups. Like Werner S., her boss came from the Augsburg area, and her members met for barbecues where they discussed terrorist plans. These were also not very specific when the authorities intervened.

So far, German right-wing terrorists have mostly come from the same city or region, knew each other long before and radicalized each other together. At the “Bamberger Gruppe” (an offshoot of the “ Weisse Wölfe Terrorcrew ” that was exposed in 2016 ), “Revolution Chemnitz”, the “ Gruppe Freital ” and the NSU, neo-Nazis with a homogeneous view of the world from comradeships or groups of friends came together. On the other hand, in the S. group, various, hitherto independent currents joined together to form a terrorist organization, including staunch neo-Nazis, vigilante activists, Reich citizens, conspiracy theorists and AfD supporters. Some had previously attracted attention at NPD demonstrations, others were involved in right-wing extremist vigilante groups, others had recently moved from the "old" to the new right . Many members had so far not been noticed as extremists, only partially or not at all knew each other in real life, but then radicalized themselves in a very short time and showed themselves ready to commit suicide bombings . After the conspiratorial exchange in secret chat groups, the appointment for the most serious crimes followed directly at the first real meeting.

The group's contacts with the Czech Republic in order to obtain firearms from right-wing extremists there showed German security authorities the increasing professionalization and internationalization of the militant Nazi scene and the continuing high risk of right-wing attacks. In September 2017, the neo-Nazi group " Combat 18 Germany" completed target practice in the Czech Republic and obtained ammunition for firearms.

Armin Schuster (CDU), head of the parliamentary control committee , assesses the group as "extremely dangerous" despite early official controls . The “civil war-like fantasies of violence through to the willingness to make sacrifices like a martyr ” could hardly be distinguished from Islamist threats and made the group particularly dangerous. Just because the police observed the Alfdorf meeting, listed Werner S. as a "threat" and an informant reported, there was no danger of an imminent attack.

The political scientist Armin Pfahl-Traughber emphasizes the following peculiarities of the group in German right-wing terrorism: It consisted of a relatively large number of people scattered throughout Germany. So this is not an East German phenomenon. It is typical, however, that almost only men are included. Its members were initially only recruited via the Internet and did not meet in the real world. They initially agreed on common views via conspiratorial chats. Already in this phase there was apparently a consensus to proceed with acts of violence against refugees and Muslims. Then planning and the construction or acquisition of weapons began. Only then did a direct meeting take place, which involved the selection of objects to be attacked and the financing of the plans. Werner S. tried to build an underground army based on the example of the Weimar Freikorps . The other members had come together from different contexts, for example from “vigilante groups”, “Reich citizens” or “Preppers” without any previous connection to one another. The S. group thus documents a “mixed scene” of these areas of origin and their increasing convergence. The group had no developed ideology and its symbols, images and slogans were drawn from traditional right-wing extremism, such as the veneration of the Germans and Vikings. In the communication all known right-wing extremist enemy images appeared: asylum seekers, refugees, Jews , Muslims, leftists, climate activists, politicians and police officers. Migration was an important topic for her, especially the “ Great Exchange ” discourse. This plays an important role in right-wing terrorism as a radicalization factor and legitimation for mass murders, for example in the case of the Christchurch assassin Brenton Tarrant . The group S. had not drawn up a sophisticated plan, but strategically calculated simultaneous attacks on mosques in different places and included the deliberate murder of praying Muslims in order to trigger a counterattack by Muslims on the majority society and thus a "civil war" aimed at the destruction or Should result in the expulsion of Muslims from Germany. This calculation is similar to that of other right-wing terrorists who want to force a “ race war ” and distinguishes terrorist acts from just spontaneous right-wing extremist acts of violence. The security authorities recognized the group as a terrorist cell at an early stage of development and rendered it harmless. The early networking on the Internet, location-independent recruitment, the civil war strategy and the involvement of an employee of the police administration with job-related access to sensitive data showed the particular danger of the group.

Social consequences

The Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion (DITIB) referred the day after the arrests to the endangerment of Muslims in Germany and demanded their consistent protection. It is disappointing that the majority of the population is silent, solidarity and a "social outcry" have so far failed to materialize. Aiman ​​Mazyek ( Central Council of Muslims ) said the fear of German Muslims was tangible and real. Standing up for minorities shows how serious people are about democracy and freedom. - The federal government assessed the timely discovery of the suspects and the arrests as a success. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) wanted to tighten the security check of employees in the police and authorities. FDP internal politician Benjamin Strasser called for the protection standards for endangered religious institutions to be uniform throughout Germany.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arrest of suspected members and supporters of a right-wing terrorist organization. Generalbundesanwalt.de, February 14, 2020
  2. ^ Raid against right-wing extremists: informant in a suspected terrorist cell. Tagesschau.de, February 17, 2020
  3. ↑ a b Jörg Köpke: Terror cell “Group S”: The riddle about the thirteenth man. RND, February 20, 2020
  4. ^ A b c Frank Jansen: Right-wing terror group around Werner S .: A trace of the right-wing extremists leads to arms dealers in the Czech Republic. Tagesspiegel, February 17, 2020
  5. ↑ a b c d Investigations against right-wing extremists: "Teutonico" and his terrorist cell. Spiegel Online, February 16, 2020.
  6. ↑ a b c Suspects of terrorism come into custody. Spiegel Online, February 16, 2020.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Christian Fuchs: Group S .: How Marion and Nazi Tony prepared for the civil war. Die Zeit, June 24, 2020.
  8. ^ A b c Christian Fuchs, Astrid Geisler, Anton Maegerle, Paul Middelhoff, Daniel Müller, Sascha Venohr: Group S: Der neue Wutbürger-Terrorismus. Die Zeit, February 23, 2020.
  9. ↑ a b c d e Konrad Litschko, Christina Schmidt, Sebastian Erb: Right-wing extremist terror cell: Greater Germans in custody. taz, February 16, 2020.
  10. ↑ a b c d Gregor Mayntz: "Dangerous for fire". Westfalenblatt, March 9, 2020.
  11. ↑ a b c d Group S: Terror suspect confirms attack plans on mosques. dpa / Zeit online, February 28, 2020.
  12. ↑ Bernd Köble, Frank Hoffmann: Kirchheimer under suspicion of terrorism. Teckbote, February 19, 2020.
  13. ^ A b c Roman Lehberger, Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt: Police employee suspected of terrorism was responsible for gun licenses. Spiegel Online, February 21, 2020.
  14. ↑ a b Thorsten W .: Police in Hamm admits errors. Time online, February 21, 2020
  15. ↑ a b c Suspects from police circles: Thorsten W. from Hamm: Financier of the right-wing terrorist cell. Westfälischer Anzeiger, February 20, 2020
  16. ↑ a b These are the three terror suspects from OWL. WDR, February 20, 2020.
  17. ↑ The alleged right-wing terrorist cell called itself "The Hard Core". Zeit Online, February 16, 2020.
  18. ↑ a b c Right-wing extremists were determined to "do their own thing". Welt online, February 15, 2020.
  19. ^ A dangerous network: "Gruppe S." had contacts with right-wing extremist vigilantes in Saxony-Anhalt. MDR, February 27, 2020
  20. ↑ Michael Ortmann: The plans of the "Group S.": They wanted the mass murder. N-tv, February 17, 2020
  21. ↑ Martin Bernstein: Alleged right-wing terrorist cell: With crossed axes and radical convictions. SZ, February 17, 2020
  22. ↑ a b What is known about the Bavarian terror suspects. BR, February 18, 2020
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  24. ↑ After raid against right-wing terror "Group S": A man who was arrested in Koblenz was already inciting against Muslims years ago. SWR, February 27, 2020
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  27. ↑ a b c V-man in the terrorist cell on the right: A medic among assassins? SWR / ARD, February 24, 2020
  28. ↑ a b Presumably right-wing terrorist group had contacts in Central Franconia. BR, March 12, 2020.
  29. ↑ a b c Muriel Kalisch, Daniel Müller, Holger Stark: Right-wing terrorism: Police find 1.2 kilos of TNT in suspected right-wing terrorists. Zeit Online, October 9, 2020
  30. ↑ Tobias Dammers, Lena Kampf, Julia Regis, Jochen Taßler: Network of "Group S": Germ cells for right-wing terrorism? Tagesschau.de, April 8, 2021; Monitor from April 8, 2021. WDR (video)
  31. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Florian Flade, Lena Kampf, Georg Mascolo: Right Terror: The Radicality of the “Group S.”. Tagesschau.de, February 27, 2020.
  32. ^ A b c Maik Baumgärtner, Roman Lehberger, Sven Röbel, Fidelius Schmid, Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt: The inconspicuous gentlemen of the "Group S." Spiegel Online, February 14, 2020.
  33. ↑ a b c Judith Brosel, Kai Run, Holger Schmidt: organizational meeting "Group S.": The main objective civil war. Tagesschau.de, March 11, 2020.
  34. ↑ a b Julia Jüttner, Martin Knobbe, Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt: The "Group S." and the 13th man. Spiegel Online, February 28, 2020
  35. ↑ Jurik Caspar Iser: Right Terror: Group S was apparently considering attacks on Habeck and Hofreiter. Die Zeit, February 26, 2020.
  36. ↑ a b Joachim Bartz: Right suspicion of terrorism - With the Kalashnikov into parliament. ZDF, April 6, 2021; Joachim Bartz, Arndt Ginzel: Right-wing extremist overthrow plans: Terror suspects in court. ZDF / Frontal21, April 6, 2021; Franz Feyder: Alleged right-wing terrorist group Group S. wanted to kill all politicians in the Reichstag “in one fell swoop”. Stuttgarter Nachrichten, April 6, 2021
  37. ↑ a b Right-wing terrorism: Nobody related to group S was classified as a threat. Time online, April 15, 2020.
  38. ↑ Suspected right-wing extremist cell "Group S.": Investigators find chemicals in a terrorist suspect. Spiegel online, February 19, 2020.
  39. ↑ Always new details after raids against suspected terrorist cells. Tagesschau.de, February 16, 2020.
  40. ^ Frank Jansen: From New Zealand to Hanau: A Chronicle of Right-Wing Terrorist Madness. Tagesspiegel, February 22, 2020
  41. ↑ Lukas Brekenkamp: Attack in Hanau: Connection to the terror cell "Group S." is being examined. Neue Westfälische, February 20, 2020.
  42. ↑ Informant reveals details of meetings of alleged right-wing terrorists in Minden. WDR, February 24, 2020.
  43. ↑ Investigations into the right-wing terrorist cell: Hamm police suspend additional employees on suspicion of extremism. dpa / Spiegel online, May 22, 2020
  44. ↑ Right-wing terror network larger than expected. WDR, February 24, 2020; The group S. - Insights into the terror cell. WDR, February 23, 2020
  45. ↑ Tobias Dammers, Felix Mannheim: Searches at the right-wing extremist Brotherhood Germany. WDR, April 1, 2020.
  46. ^ OWL: Police operation allegedly against terrorist cell. WDR, May 13, 2020; Large-scale operation in Kleinenbremen: Presumably food depot dug up by right-wing terrorist cell. Schaumburger Nachrichten, May 13, 2020 (fee required).
  47. ^ "Group S.": Terror suspect found dead in prison. Tagesschau.de, July 15, 2020; Dortmund: Suspected right-wing extremist died in prison. WDR, July 15, 2020
  48. ↑ Holger Schmidt: Charges against "Group S.": A killer for the best witness? Tagesschau.de, February 25, 2021
  49. ↑ Judgment against alleged "Group S." member: Mindener is not allowed to own any weapons. Schaumburger Nachrichten, September 16, 2020
  50. ↑ Charges were brought against eleven alleged members and one alleged supporter of a right-wing terrorist organization ("Gruppe S."). Generalbundesanwalt.de, November 13, 2020
  51. ↑ Sven Röbel, Fidelius Schmid, Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt: Alleged right-wing terrorists of the "Group S.": "Bock on a massacre". Spiegel Online, November 13, 2020; Charges against "Group S.": Suspects from right-wing extremist vigilante groups. Tagesschau.de, November 12, 2020; Group S .: Federal Prosecutor's Office brings charges against alleged right-wing extremists. Zeit Online, November 12, 2020; Holger Schmidt: Founding in Alfdorf: Right-wing extremist terrorist group should go to court in Stuttgart. SWR, November 12, 2020
  52. ^ Hate in the Dozen , Spiegel Online, April 13, 2021.
  53. ↑ Report: Suspected terrorist cell planned attack based on the example of Christchurch. RND, February 16, 2020; Sebastian Bähr: Following the example of Christchurch. ND, February 17, 2020
  54. ↑ Armin Pfahl-Traughber: Planning of terrorist acts of violence. Look to the right , February 27, 2020.