Germany bans neo-Nazi group, carries out sweeping raids
Authorities confiscate weapons, hard drives and propaganda material of far-right extremists Weisse Woelfe Terrorcrew
BERLIN (AP) — German authorities conducted raids across the country Wednesday after the government banned a right-wing extremist group called Weisse Woelfe Terrorcrew accused of wanting to establish a Nazi-style dictatorship.
The German interior minister said the raids and seizures of evidence in 10 states targeted 16 leaders of the group.
“Today’s ban is directed against an association that tries to carry violent conflicts onto the streets,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said, adding that “the ban is a clear and strong signal against far-right extremisms and an important measure against hatred and incitement in Germany.”
Authorities confiscated weapons, hard drives and propaganda material. It was not clear if any suspects were detained, because the raids were continuing when de Maiziere briefed reporters in Berlin late Wednesday morning.
The minister said the group, with an inner circle of about 25 members, had violently confronted the police and political opponents, and planned attacks on refugee shelters. The ban will also affect possible successor organizations.
In recent months, Germany has seen a sharp rise in attacks on refugee homes and migrants themselves. The government has reacted by banning several far-right groups.
In January, it banned a far-right Internet platform called Altermedia Deutschland that it accused of spreading “racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, homophobic and anti-Islamic content.”
Also in January, German prosecutors charged three men and one woman with forming another far-right group and planning to bomb a refugee shelter.
That group, which went by the name Oldschool Society, discussed how to manufacture explosives and the possibility of attacking Islamic extremists and asylum seekers in Germany.
De Maiziere on Wednesday said the latest ban of Weisse Woelfe (White Wolves) Terrorcrew should be seen as a signal that the government would continue to crack down hard on far-right groups.
“I am saying to the activists in the far-right extremist scene: the state is watching you. We are acting against you. We will do this with resolve and rigor,” de Maiziere said.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
