TerrorismGerman Extremists Planned Mosque Attacks to Plunge Country into “Civil War”: Prosecutors
German authorities say that members of an extremist far-right terrorist cell – called The Hard Core — arrested Friday were planning large-scale attacks on mosques. The group reasoned that killing a large number of Muslims would lead to counter-violence by Muslims in Germany, which may lead the federal and state governments to impose harsh measures to try and stem the violence, plunging Germany into chaos (or “circumstances akin to civil war,” in the words of prosecutors). Such a situation, not for the first time in German history, would then be ripe for the emergence of a “strong man” who would restore order and civic peace by dispensing with the more “onerous” aspects of a liberal, pluralistic democracy and by forcing “undesirable elements” out of Germany.
Following police raids across Germany late Friday, in which twelve members of a far-right extremist terror cell were arrested and in which documents and phones were seized, investigators say that the extremists were planning “shocking” large-scale attacks on mosques in Germany.
“It’s shocking what has been revealed here: that there are cells here that appear to have become radicalized in such a short space of time,” Interior Ministry spokesman Björn Grünewälder said. He said that in the current security situation, attacks on places of worship could not be ruled out, though the threat was “abstract.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman stressed that Germany would work to preserve the right of people to practice their religion without danger.
“It is the task of the state, and of course of this government, to protect the free practice of religion in this country, no matter what religion it is,” Steffen Seibert said.
The Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported that the group of German nationals called their cell “Der harte Kern” (The Hard Core).
Federal prosecutors said the plan of members of the extremist cell was to bring about “circumstances akin to civil war” by planning “yet-unspecified attacks against politicians, asylum-seekers and Muslims” (the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s story title: “Sie planten Bürgerkriegsszenarien” [They were planning a civil war scenario]).
The cell’s leaders reasoned that killing a large number of Muslims would lead to counter-violence by Muslims in Germany, which may lead the federal and state governments to impose harsh measures to try and stem the violence, plunging Germany into chaos. Such a situation, not for the first time in German history, would then be ripe for the emergence of a “strong man” who would restore order and civic peace by dispensing with the more “onerous” aspects of a liberal, pluralistic democracy and by forcing “undesirable elements” out of Germany.
After the twelve men were arrested Friday, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice, Germany’s highest criminal court, on Saturday ordered the men on Saturday to remain in jail as the investigation continues.
Welt am Sonntag reports that four of the detainees are suspected to be the leaders of the terrorist cell, while the other eight were involved in providing financial and logistical support and gathering information on mosques which would be targeted for attack.
The newspaper says that the men became acquainted with each other through WhatsApp, with the terrorist cell being formed last September. One more member of the cell is still at large.
The police investigation also discovered the members of The Hard Core were exchanging messages with members of Soldiers of Odin, a Finland-based violent antiimmigration group founded in 2015. The Finnish group is loosely associated with neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement , a Sweden-based pan-Nazi movement with members in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark.
DW reports that the police found weapons while raiding a total of 13 residences across six German states on Friday. The weapons included a “slam gun,” a home-made scatter rifle which was used by the anti-Semitic gunman who tried to attack a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle last October, but instead killed two passers-by.
