After the raid scandal

AfD plans expulsion of “Saxon Separatists”

Federal spokespersons Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel call a special conference call of the AfD federal executive for Wednesday.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Odd ANDERSEN)

Following the raid against the far-right group "Saxon Separatists", the AfD leadership is initiating expulsion proceedings. A suspected AfD politician was shot during the operation - two Austrians were also arrested. The proceedings are also politically explosive because the Saxon AfD state association has been considered to be right-wing extremist since December.

The federal prosecutor's office had eight men arrested in Saxony on Tuesday. They are strongly suspected of being members of an extreme right-wing domestic terrorist organization called the "Saxon Separatists", as the Karlsruhe authority announced on Tuesday.

AfD federal leadership plans expulsion
These apparently included AfD members. On Wednesday, the AfD federal leadership is planning a special conference at which those involved are to be expelled from the right-wing populist German party.

The AfD Federal Executive Committee is to apply to the relevant regional arbitration court for expulsion from the party "due to a significant violation of the principles and order of our party". However, Chrupalla and Weidel want to exclude the members from exercising all of their membership rights with immediate effect until the arbitration court has reached a decision.

Saxon state association as certainly right-wing extremist
The AfD is distancing itself from this suspected neo-Nazi group and stands on the ground of the Basic Law, according to the statement on Wednesday. The reaction is also important in the context of a possible AfD ban procedure, as the Saxon state association has been regarded as confirmed right-wing extremist since December. In the past, three AfD politicians - including some from Saxony - were also involved in the alleged right-wing terrorists of the "Reuß Group" in 2022. Investigations raise the question of whether other parts of the party will become radicalized in the future.

The AfD draws conclusions after the arrest of suspected members of the far-right group "Saxon Separatists".

(Bild: APA/dpa/Sebastian Kahnert)

AfD politician injured by gunshot
During the raid on Tuesday, the suspected AfD politician Kurt H. was apparently injured by a shot from a gun. According to security sources from the German magazine "Spiegel", shots were fired during H.'s arrest in the morning in Grimme, Saxony.

According to the report, the politician grabbed a carbine during the arrest and the authorities then fired two warning shots. H. then fell to the ground with a wound to his jaw. Whether it was a police bullet or a bullet from H.'s own weapon remained unclear at first, according to investigators. H. has served as treasurer of the Saxon AfD youth organization Junge Alternative (JA) since October and is also a member of the city council of the municipality of Grimma in Saxony.

Kurt H.'s extremist activities
According to media reports, Kurt H. had been active in the far-right scene for some time. As recently as June 2024, he was involved in a midsummer celebration in Oberlausitz, where 150 AfD politicians, neo-Nazis, right-wing activists and hooligans sang Hitler Youth songs and honored an SS great.

Kurt H. had also attracted increasing attention in previous years due to his links to right-wing extremist circles. The three suspected AfD members, who allegedly belong to the "Saxon Separatists" group, have been active in the party for several years. During this time, they have taken on various functions at local and regional level. 

One of the two other suspects, Kevin R., sits on committees for the AfD in Grimma, such as the social, culture, youth and sports committees. In 2021, he was also media representative and representative for the YES in the Leipziger Land district association of the AfD. Hans-Georg P. was appointed to the East District Advisory Council by the Leipzig AfD in 2021.

Two Austrians under suspicion
According to the German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe, the group members reject the free democratic basic order. According to the information, the association assumes that Germany is facing a "collapse". If the state and society collapse, the group wants to conquer areas in Saxony and possibly other East German states by force of arms.

According to Der Spiegel, the suspected terrorists arrested include the brothers Jörg & Jörn S., who are said to belong to the family of a well-known right-wing extremist from Austria and a former FPÖ politician.