Germany’s far-right AfD to expel members over links to ‘militant’ groups
Al Jazeera
The political party that made gains in regional polls is defended by its leaders while labelled ‘right-wing extremist’ by Germany’s security services.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party has said it will throw out three of its members who have been arrested on suspicion of having joined an “extremist” paramilitary group.
The political party’s announcement comes after eight people were arrested and at least 20 properties were searched during a police operation on Tuesday.
The operation targeted the Saxonian Separatists, a group authorities consider a domestic “terrorist organisation”. It was founded in November 2020 and is driven by racist ideology and conspiracy theories.
Members had been training in warfare for the downfall of the modern German state before hundreds of police swooped on locations linked to it in eastern Germany, neighbouring Poland, and also in Austria.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Tuesday that the police operations had thwarted “early stage militant coup plans” and investigators noted that the group was planning to establish a new system in the country’s east inspired by Nazism.
