Suspected neo-Nazi charged with plotting German 'race war'
German federal prosecutors said Wednesday said they had charged a suspected neo-Nazi with attempting to set off a "race war" in Germany with planned attacks using explosives and guns.
A week after authorities swooped on alleged far-right militant cells in raids across Germany, the federal prosecutor's office named the suspect only as Marvin E. and said he had been in detention since September 2021.
Marvin E., whose age was not provided but who was a minor at the time, now faces charges of attempting to form a terrorist organisation, as well as preparation of a grievous seditious attack and various weapons law violations.
Prosecutors said in a statement that he "shares the ideology" of Atomwaffen Division (Atomic Weapons Division, AWD), an international neo-Nazi terrorist network founded in 2015 in the United States.
READ ALSO: Germany stages country-wide raids against ‘neo-Nazi networks’
Marvin E. intended from the summer of 2021 to launch "a civil race war" over the next three years "to preserve the white population", they said.
He is believed to have researched the acquisition of firearms and built "unconventional" bombs with components bought online, while seeking to start his own local chapter of AWD and recruit members.
AWD is believed to espouse "racist, anti-Semitic and National Socialist views" and plot attacks against Jews, Muslims and other purported enemies with an aim of destabilising Western democratic states.
Last week's raids also targeted suspected members of the group and other far-right extremist organisations, leading to four arrests.
In what Der Spiegel magazine called "the biggest blow against the militant neo-Nazi scene in the recent past", the federal prosecutor's office said more than 1,000 officers raided the homes of 50 suspects in 11 states.
READ ALSO: Germany searches 100 suspects over political hate speech
Germany's centre-left-led government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz took office in December pledging a decisive fight against far-right militants after criticism that the previous administration had been lax on neo-Nazi violence.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said when she was appointed that her top priority would be tackling the country's "biggest threat: right-wing extremism" after a series of deadly far-right attacks.
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A week after authorities swooped on alleged far-right militant cells in raids across Germany, the federal prosecutor's office named the suspect only as Marvin E. and said he had been in detention since September 2021.
Marvin E., whose age was not provided but who was a minor at the time, now faces charges of attempting to form a terrorist organisation, as well as preparation of a grievous seditious attack and various weapons law violations.
Prosecutors said in a statement that he "shares the ideology" of Atomwaffen Division (Atomic Weapons Division, AWD), an international neo-Nazi terrorist network founded in 2015 in the United States.
READ ALSO: Germany stages country-wide raids against ‘neo-Nazi networks’
Marvin E. intended from the summer of 2021 to launch "a civil race war" over the next three years "to preserve the white population", they said.
He is believed to have researched the acquisition of firearms and built "unconventional" bombs with components bought online, while seeking to start his own local chapter of AWD and recruit members.
AWD is believed to espouse "racist, anti-Semitic and National Socialist views" and plot attacks against Jews, Muslims and other purported enemies with an aim of destabilising Western democratic states.
Last week's raids also targeted suspected members of the group and other far-right extremist organisations, leading to four arrests.
In what Der Spiegel magazine called "the biggest blow against the militant neo-Nazi scene in the recent past", the federal prosecutor's office said more than 1,000 officers raided the homes of 50 suspects in 11 states.
READ ALSO: Germany searches 100 suspects over political hate speech
Germany's centre-left-led government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz took office in December pledging a decisive fight against far-right militants after criticism that the previous administration had been lax on neo-Nazi violence.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said when she was appointed that her top priority would be tackling the country's "biggest threat: right-wing extremism" after a series of deadly far-right attacks.
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