German prosecutors charged a right-wing group with terrorism offenses, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Members of Revolution Chemnitz were alleged to have the formed the group in September with the intention of planning and carrying out terror attacks.
The charges were initially revealed by a collaboration between public broadcasters NDR, WDR and newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and later confirmed by the federal prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe.
Members of the group had allegedly planned to orchestrate a civil-war-like rebellion in Berlin on October 2, 2018. Prosecutors based their charges partly on the use of chat logs found on the defendants’ mobile phones.
Eight alleged members are being held in pre-trial custody and known to police as leaders in the right-wing extremist scene in the eastern city of Chemnitz, which was the scene of anti-immigrant protests last year.
The trial is expected to begin in the fall before the Higher Regional Court of Dresden.
Read more: Crossing Germany’s divide — encounters with far-right protesters
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How the Chemnitz protests unfolded
Death sparks demonstrations
The demonstrations were sparked by a deadly brawl that broke out in the German city of Chemnitz in the early hours of Sunday (August 26). What started out as a war of words resulted in a 35-year-old man being stabbed to death. Hours later, spontaneous, anti-migrant protests took over the streets of Chemnitz.
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How the Chemnitz protests unfolded
German-Cuban killed
A German-Cuban man was stabbed in an altercation involving 10 people, several of whom were of “various nationalities,” police sources said. The victim, named only as Daniel H., was apparently well-known among various political groups in the area. Two men in their 30s were also stabbed and seriously injured, and a 22-year-old Iraqi and 23-year-old Syrian are in custody over the killing.
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How the Chemnitz protests unfolded
Police reinforcements called
By Sunday afternoon, some 800 people had gathered to protest the man’s death, including far-right groups. Authorities said the crowd was largely uncooperative and threw bottles at police officers. Police reinforcements had to be called in from nearby cities. The mobilizations were spontaneous and are thought to have surfaced following calls to demonstrate on social media.
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How the Chemnitz protests unfolded
Misinformation
German authorities said that that far-right groups spread misinformation on the internet. Among the false claims was that the victim of the knife attack died protecting a woman.
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How the Chemnitz protests unfolded
Protests and counterprotests
Thousands of far-right and counterdemonstrators faced off in a second day of protest Monday. Several people were injured as objects and fireworks were hurled. Video footage showed the far-right “Pro Chemnitz” movement holding a banner with a quote from early 20th century poet Anton Günther reading “German and free we aim to be.”
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How the Chemnitz protests unfolded
‘No place for Nazis’
Counter-demonstrators denouncing right-wing extremism also took to the streets of Chemnitz. Among the protesters were Antifa, who clashed with right-wing demonstrators.
Author: Louisa Wright
False-flag attack planned
One of the accused reportedly admitted during interrogation that the action in Berlin was intended to “override laws,” and that they wanted to make it appear that leftists were responsible for the planned actions.
The men, aged 21 to 31, allegedly lead the skinhead, hooligan and neo-Nazi scenes in the Chemnitz area.
They were arrested shortly after forming their alleged alliance.
aw/jm (dpa, AFP, epd)
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