German Police Arrest Eight Far-Right Militants

German police arrested eight members of a far-right, neo-Nazi militant group on Tuesday, thwarting their plans to take over the state using armed force, Germany’s federal prosecutor general said.

Over 450 police officers and special forces were involved in the operation, searching 20 premises related to the eight men.

Our security authorities have thus thwarted at an early stage militant coup plans by right-wing terrorists, who were longing for a Day X to attack people and our state with armed force.
—Nancy Faeser, German interior minister

Saxonian Separatists: The group, Sächsische Separatisten, or Saxonian Separatists, was founded around 2020. It is made up of 15 to 20 individuals, and has been called racist, anti-Semitic and partially apocalyptic.

Its members have completed paramilitary training and have practiced special urban warfare and firearms handling. The group has also procured military hardware, such as camouflage fatigues, combat helmets, gas masks and bulletproof vests.

“Its members are united in a profound rejection of the liberal democratic order and believe that Germany is nearing ‘collapse,’” the Office of the Federal Prosecutor said, adding that the group wants to conquer areas in Saxony and potentially other East German states “to establish a state and society based on National Socialism.”

They believe “undesirable groups of people are to be removed from the area by ethnic cleansing if necessary,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Desire for change: Extremist groups like this are common in Germany. Many Germans are unhappy with their government and will go to extremes to change it.

Learn more: Read “Why Does Germany Have So Many Neo-Nazi Conspiracies?”