BERLIN (AP) — German federal prosecutors on Thursday charged eight suspects with being members of a “right-wing extremist terrorist” group that they say aims to destabilize Germany’s democratic system by attacking immigrants and political opponents.
Prosecutors also charged seven alleged members and one supporter of the group, some of whom are teenagers, with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and grievous bodily harm.
Most of the young men were arrested in May, when they were accused of being part of a group calling itself “Last Defense Wave.”
According to the federal prosecutor’s office, the organization sees itself as the “final authority” in defense of the “German nation.” It is said that the organization was established in May 2024 and planned or carried out arson and bomb attacks on the homes of asylum seekers and left-wing institutions.
At the time, five suspects aged between 14 and 21 were arrested in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and Hesse. Police searched 13 properties locally as well as in Saxony and Thuringia. Three other suspects were in custody at the time.
Due to the suspects’ older age, some of them had to appear with their parents before an investigating judge at the Federal Court in Karlsruhe. Except for one suspect who was released in July, the other suspects are in pretrial detention.
Federal prosecutors have attributed three attacks and planned attacks to the group, including an arson attack on a cultural center in Altdobern, Brandenburg, an attempted attack on an asylum-seeker residence in Schmeln, Thuringia, and a planned attack on an asylum-seeker residence in Senftenberg, also in Brandenburg.
No one was injured in the incident. Several members of the gang were also charged with robbery and assault causing serious injury, a prosecutor’s statement said.
German news agency dpa reported that members of the group planned to “spark a race war, triggering a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence to protect the ‘white race’ and ultimately eliminate liberal democracy,” according to documents released in July.
They are said to have posted racist and anti-Semitic messages on social media and glorified the “Third Reich” and National Socialism, dpa reported.