German state minister resigns over gun purchase from right-wing extremist
A controversial gun purchase prompted the resignation of the interior minister of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Tuesday.
The minister, Lorenz Caffier, bought a hunting pistol from the arms dealer in 2018. It later came to light that the dealer was a member of the Nordkreuz (Northern Cross) group, an extreme-right survivalist network made up of people stockpiling for the collapse of the German state.
“I bought a firearm from someone whom I should not have bought it from, in hindsight. Although it was not the purchase that was a mistake, but how I handled it. I apologize for that,” Caffier said in a statement.
The arms dealer’s affiliation with the group only came to light in 2019, but the dealer’s name was already known to authorities in 2017. The name came to light during the questioning of a witness associated with the Nordkreuz Group, and the information was then forwarded to authorities in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Read more: Groups stand up to far-right in eastern Germany
As the state interior minister, Caffier oversaw the police and intelligence agencies conducting an investigation into the extreme-right group.
In his statement Tuesday, Caffier flatly denied any links to right-wing extremists and condemned “unrestrained reporting” into the case. He said he was resigning to “protect my family, the people around me and my staff” and to “avert damage from the government.”
Who is Lorenz Caffier?
Caffier, 65, had served as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania interior minister for 14 years and was the oldest sitting politician in that position. He also served as the leader of the center-right CDU party in the northeastern German state from 2009 to 2017.
He had also played a key role in a proposed ban of the extreme-right NPD party, a measure that was not implemented.
-
The Reichsbürger movement in Germany
What do Reichsbürger believe?
“Reichsbürger” translates to “citizens of the Reich.” The nebulous movement rejects the modern German state, and insists that the German Empire’s 1937 or 1871 borders still exist and the modern country is an administrative construct still occupied by Allied powers. For Reichsbürger, the government, parliament, judiciary and security agencies are puppets installed and controlled by foreigners.
-
The Reichsbürger movement in Germany
What do they do?
The Reichsbürger refuse to pay taxes or fines. They see their personal property, such as their houses, as independent entities outside the authority of the Federal Republic of Germany, and reject the German constitution and other legal texts, but also swamp German courts with lawsuits. They produce their own aspirational documents such as passports and driving licenses.
-
The Reichsbürger movement in Germany
How much of a threat are they?
The Reichsbürger scene began to develop in the 1980s and is a disparate, leaderless movement that has grown to about 19,000 supporters, according to German intelligence officials. Of those, about 950 have been identified as far-right extremists and at least 1,000 have a license to own firearms. Many subscribe to anti-Semitic ideologies.
-
The Reichsbürger movement in Germany
Who are its members? One was Mr. Germany
According to German authorities, the average Reichsbürger is 50 years old, male, and is socially and financially disadvantaged. The movement’s members are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of Germany. Adrian Ursache, a former winner of the Mister Germany beauty pageant, is also a Reichsbürger and was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2019 for shooting and injuring a policeman.
-
The Reichsbürger movement in Germany
Turning point
The case of Wolfgang P., who in October 2017 was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a police officer, is seen as a turning point for how German authorities deal with the extremist group. P., an alleged Reichsbürger member, shot at officers who were raiding his home to confiscate weapons. The case gained international attention and set off alarm bells over the escalation of violence.
-
The Reichsbürger movement in Germany
What are the authorities doing about it?
German authorities were accused of long underestimating the threat. In 2017 for the first time Germany’s domestic intelligence service documented extremist crimes perpetrated by individual Reichsbürger. Since then there have been several raids on Reichsbürger targets and subgroups have been banned. Police and military have also probed whether they have Reichsbürger in their own ranks.
-
The Reichsbürger movement in Germany
International parallels, conspiracy theories
Reichsbürger have been seen waving Russian flags, leading to allegations that they are funded by Russia with the aim to destabilize the German government. Germany’s Reichsbürger are also compared to US groups such as “freemen-on-the-land,” who believe that they are bound only by laws they consent to and can therefore declare themselves independent of the government and the rule of law.
dv/dj (AP, dpa)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-state-minister-resigns-over-gun-purchase-from-right-wing-extremist/a-55636461?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-xml-atom