German authorities warn far-right extremism on the rise

Authorities in Germany say that the number of far-right extremists in the country increased last year as neo-Nazis sought to join protests against pandemic-related restrictions.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer says authorities counted 33,300 far-right extremists in 2020, an increase of almost 4% from the previous year.

“Far-right extremists were repeatedly able to protest side-by-side” with non-extremist opponents of the pandemic restrictions, Seehofer says.

The minister adds that it was worrying how the protesters often didn’t distance themselves from the far-right extremists marching among them.

According to data published in an annual report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the domestic intelligence agency — known by its German acronym BfV — some 40% of far-right extremists in Germany are believed to support the use of violence for political ends.