Head of the "Hammer Gang"

German left-wing extremist (31) arrested in Zug

Symbolic image

(Bild: BKA)

German police have arrested a suspected ringleader of the violent left-wing extremist scene in the federal state of Thuringia. The 31-year-old Johann G. is believed to be a member of the Leipzig group "Hammer Gang" around the already convicted student Lina E., security circles confirmed.

According to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the arrest on a regional train near Weimar was not a coincidence.

Investigators had been on the 31-year-old's trail for some time
In fact, investigators had been on the trail of Lina E.'s former partner for some time. Police forces from the Saxony State Criminal Police Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) were involved in the raid, it was reported.

In left-wing extremist groups, inhibitions about attacking political opponents with extreme brutality have fallen.

Die deutsche Innenministerin Nancy Faeser (SPD)

Brutal attacks on right-wingers
The 31-year-old Johann G. is regarded as the head of the group, which attracted attention with brutal attacks on known right-wing extremists and actual or alleged members of the right-wing scene. Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) described him as "the central piece of the puzzle in the entire investigation complex" against the group.

The German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the man had been arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice. It was initially unclear when he would be brought before the investigating judge, who would issue the arrest warrant and decide on his pre-trial detention.

"No one can feel safe in the underground"
The arrest shows that "no one can feel safe in the underground", said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). "In left-wing extremist groups, the inhibition thresholds for attacking political opponents with extreme brutality have fallen." This spiral of radicalization and violence must be stopped. Faeser spoke of an important success in the manhunt, particularly by the LKA Saxony.

Member of a criminal organization
The suspected left-wing extremist had also been the subject of a public search. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor General and the Saxony State Criminal Police Office, he is urgently suspected of having participated in several politically motivated physical assaults as a member of a criminal organization. According to the information provided, some of the victims suffered serious injuries.

Hatred of police officers
The authorities had offered a reward of 10,000 euros for crucial information leading to his arrest. The photos of the man published by the police include a picture showing two hands with the tattoo "HATE COPS" on the fingers. The man who has now been arrested is said to have been controversial in the left-wing extremist scene, but more because of his personality than because of ideological differences.

The arrest warrant for the man, who has been in hiding since summer 2020 at the latest, is dated March 26, 2021. According to earlier statements by the Saxon LKA, investigators were "fairly certain" that he was also involved in attacks on suspected supporters of the far-right scene in Hungary's capital Budapest in February 2023.

In May 2023, the Dresden Higher Regional Court (OLG) sentenced Lina E. to five years and three months in prison for several attacks on right-wing extremists. Despite this, she was initially released after two and a half years on remand. The arrest warrant was suspended subject to conditions. She will only have to serve the remainder of her sentence if the verdict becomes final.

For her three co-defendants, the State Security Chamber of the Higher Regional Court imposed prison sentences of between two and a half years and three years and three months. The Federal Public Prosecutor General accused them of brutally beating up actual or alleged supporters of the right-wing scene in Leipzig, Wurzen and Eisenach between 2018 and 2020. The name of the suspect who has now been arrested was repeatedly mentioned during the trial. According to security sources, around a dozen members of the group are still in hiding.

In recent months, there have been protest rallies in several German cities against the extradition of a suspected left-wing extremist to Hungary. The Federal Constitutional Court had issued an emergency ruling prohibiting the process - but the decision came too late. The person known as "Maja" had been handed over to the Hungarian authorities an hour earlier.

The background to this is a criminal investigation being conducted by the Hungarian judiciary into attacks on suspected right-wing extremists in Budapest. Maja" is also said to have been involved. She was born in Jena and identifies herself as non-binary. According to the Federal Constitutional Court, the Hungarian authorities have accused "Maja" of being a member of a criminal organization since 2017. She was arrested in Berlin last December and has been in custody ever since.