The unnamed suspect had allegedly posted a photo of Manuela Schwesig, state premier of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with the message that she will be picked up “either by a police car, in a straitjacket by an ambulance or by a hearse”.

Investigators seized data carriers from the property in the Baltic seaside city of Rostock, said prosecutors in a statement.

If convicted of making insulting, defamatory or slanderous statements against a political figure, the suspect risks up to three years in prison.

Over the last months, a rash of death threats has appeared in increasingly virulent chats online against politicians and Germany’s policies to curb Covid 19 infections.

In a series of raids in mid-December over threats made against another state premier, weapons were seized from the homes of six suspects, who are being investigated for allegedly “preparing a violent crime that threatens the state”.

With many of these threats made on Telegram, federal police last week announced they were setting up a special force to investigate offending posts on the app, identifying and prosecuting authors.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has also warned that if Telegram fails to cooperate with efforts to stamp out illegal behaviour, the government could ban the service completely.

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