German Police Arrest 8 Suspected Members Of A Far-Right Militant Group

Police in Germany on Tuesday arrested eight suspected members of a far-right militant organization, Germany’s public prosecutor said.

The suspects, some of them minors and adolescents, were allegedly part of a group of around 15-20 individuals called Sächsische Separatisten, or Saxonian Separatists, that is characterized by racist, antisemitic and partially apocalyptic ideas, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

“Its members are united in a profound rejection of the liberal democratic order and believe that Germany is nearing ‘collapse,’” the statement said.

It said the group plotted to seize power in Saxony and potentially other eastern German states “to establish governmental and societal structures inspired by National Socialism.”

“Even ethnic cleansing was part of their inhuman plans,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement.

He said that the arrests were a reminder that the German constitutional state and the free and democratic order “are under threat from many sides.”

“We must do everything we can to defend our liberal democracy against its enemies,” he said.

Read more: AP