Germany says it broke up a far-right group that planned attacks. 5 teens
have been arrested
[May 21, 2025]
By GEIR MOULSON
BERLIN (AP) — German police on Wednesday arrested five teenagers accused
of involvement with a right-wing extremist group calling itself “Last
Defense Wave” that allegedly aimed to destabilize the country's
democratic system by carrying out attacks on migrants and political
opponents.
The early-morning arrests in various parts of Germany were accompanied
by searches at 13 properties, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Four of those arrested — identified only as Benjamin H., Ben-Maxim H.,
Lenny M. and Jason R., in line with German privacy rules — are suspected
of membership in a domestic terror organization. The fifth, Jerome M.,
is accused of supporting the group. Two of the arrested also are accused
of attempted murder and aggravated arson. All are between the ages of 14
and 18.
Prosecutors said they are also investigating three other people, ages 18
to 21, who are already in custody. All the suspects are German citizens.
According to the prosecutors, the group was formed in mid-April 2024 or
earlier. They said that its members saw themselves as the last resort to
defend the “German nation” and aimed to bring about the collapse of
Germany's democratic order, with attacks on homes for asylum-seekers and
on facilities associated with the left-wing political spectrum.
Two of the suspects set a fire at a cultural center in Altdöbern in
eastern Germany in October, prosecutors said, adding that several people
living in the building at the time escaped injury only by chance.
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Police search rooms in the 'Altes Postamt' building in Neubukow,
Germany, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Bernd Wuestneck/dpa via AP)
In January, another two suspects allegedly broke a window at a home
for asylum-seekers in Schmölln and tried unsuccessfully to start a
blaze by setting off fireworks. They daubed the group's initials and
slogans such as “Foreigners out,” “Germany for the Germans” and
“Nazi area," as well as swastikas, prosecutors said.
Also in January, three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on
a home for asylum-seekers in Senftenberg, but it never came about
because of the earlier arrests of two of the men.
Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said it was “particularly shocking”
that all of those arrested Wednesday were minors at the time the
group was allegedly founded.
“This is an alarm signal and it shows that right-wing extremist
terrorism knows no age,” Hubig said in a statement.
In a separate case a week ago, German authorities banned a far-right
group called “Kingdom of Germany” as a threat to the country's
democratic order and arrested four of its alleged leaders.
In an annual report released Tuesday, the Federal Criminal Police
Office said that the number of violent crimes with a right-wing
motivation was up 17.2% last year to 1,488. That was part of an
overall increase in violent politically motivated offenses to 4,107,
an increase of 15.3%.
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