German police arrested 25 members and supporters of a far-right movement on Wednesday morning after the raids. According to prosecutors, they planned to storm the armed German parliament.
More than 3,000 officers raided more than 130 homes in the early hours of the morning. They were looking for a total of 52 suspects, he writes time online. It would be the largest German counter-terrorism operation in recent years.
With the exception of one Russian, all suspects are German. Among others, a German soldier and several reservists were arrested.
The operation is aimed at the so-called Reichsbürger. They do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany and therefore feel that German laws do not apply to them. For example, many members refuse to pay taxes.
German intelligence estimates the movement has around 21,000 supporters. Among them are neo-Nazis, conspiracy theorists and gun enthusiasts.
According to the German judiciary, there was already a group classification. The members were already divided into an advisory council and a group that would carry out the attack on the parliament and hold the politicians hostage.
“Democracy is well defended: a major counter-terrorism operation has been underway since this morning,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said via Twitter. Preparations for the police action started as early as April.
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