Among them AfD politicians

FBI stumbled upon “Saxon separatists” in chat

It is thanks to the FBI that suspected members of a right-wing terrorist group in Germany and Austria have been uncovered (symbolic image).

(Bild: APA)

The FBI has alerted the German judiciary to the suspected right-wing terrorist group "Saxon Separatists". A German had disclosed relevant content in a chat. Among those arrested is a local AfD politician from Saxony.

As reported, the German Federal Public Prosecutor General had eight suspected members of the militant group arrested on Tuesday. Six of the suspects were remanded in custody on the day of their arrest. It is unclear when the alleged ringleader Jörg S. will be brought before the investigating judge. He was arrested in Poland and is still there until his extradition.

Jörg S. and his brother Jörn S., who has also been arrested, are family members of a former FPÖ politician and a well-known Austrian right-wing extremist. The father was convicted in the 1990s for Nazi reactivation, served time in prison and then emigrated to Germany.

Here you can see a picture of the police operation.

Evidence found in Vienna
Among those arrested is a local AfD politician from Saxony, who suffered a broken jaw during the police raid. He was holding a long gun in his hand, which is why the police fired two warning shots, it was said. The politician, who is a hunter and legally owns the weapon, had to undergo surgery.

Searches were carried out not only in Germany (see video above), but also in Vienna and in the district of Krems-Land. Numerous pieces of evidence were seized. The first tip-off about the group came from the USA. The FBI has more opportunities to solve cases on the Internet than the German security authorities. 

The "Saxon Separatists" group was founded in November 2020 at the latest. "This is a militant group consisting of fifteen to twenty people whose ideology is characterized by racist, anti-Semitic and in parts apocalyptic ideas," the federal prosecutor's office announced. The AfD has since announced that it will expel its politician and two other party members who are said to belong to the terrorist group from the party.