German police said on Wednesday (15) that they had discovered a conspiracy by anti-vaccine groups to assassinate the prime minister of the state of Saxony, in the east of the country. The planning of the crime has sparked a new alert in German authorities in the face of increasingly violent protests against health restrictions and plans for mandatory vaccinations.
According to the police, anti-immunization activists formed a group on the Telegram app with more than 100 members. Messages on the platform indicate that the members possessed crossbows and firearms that could be used in the assassination of Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer.
State police also said the investigation focused on five key members of the group on Telegram. There were search warrants at various addresses in the cities of Dresden and Heidenau, where, according to authorities, “the initial suspicion was confirmed”.
It was not clear whether any of those investigated were detained, but the police statement describes the group’s actions as “preparing for violent acts that threaten the state”.
Saxony is among the states in Germany with the highest rates of coronavirus infection and the lowest vaccination rates. The region is also a stronghold of the far-right Alternative to Germany (AfD) party — a survey by the Forsa Institute found that half of those unvaccinated voted for the AfD in the last election.
In recent weeks, protests against restrictions imposed on the unvaccinated and against mandatory immunization for certain groups (will be required of health professionals from March 16) have become more violent. There has been an increase, for example, in demonstrations involving some type of attack on doctors, politicians and journalists.
German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, who took office last week, delivered a tough speech in Parliament on Wednesday and said his government will not accept violent protests against the preventive measures.
“We will not tolerate a small minority of uninhibited extremists trying to impose their will on our entire society,” Scholz said.
According to German broadcaster ARD, more than a dozen politicians, media and public institutions received wrapped pieces of meat and letters with promises of “bloody resistance” against the measures.
In September, a vaccination center in Saxony was the target of an arson. Last month, a group of protesters gathered outside the home of the interior minister of the same state, carrying flaming torches, which was seen as a thinly veiled threat of violence. A similar act took place earlier this month in front of the Ministry of Health’s residence.
For Scholz, “what currently exists in Germany is denial of reality, absurd conspiracy theories, deliberate disinformation and violent extremism.” In response, the prime minister promised to use “all the resources of the democratic rule of law”.
“Let’s be clear: a small minority in our country has turned away from our society, our democracy, our community and our state, and not just science, rationality and reason,” said Angela Merkel’s successor.
This Wednesday’s operation was the unfolding of an investigation initiated from a report by the public broadcaster ZDF. The vehicle revealed the content of the messages of the group on Telegram, whose members declare themselves “united by their opposition to the vaccine, the State and the current health policy”, according to the Public Ministry.
Audio messages in the anti-vaccination group advocated opposition to the current measures, “with weapons if necessary” and cited political leaders, in particular Prime Minister Kretschmer. In an interview with the newspaper Bild, a security expert from the SPD, Scholz’s party, released a survey that indicates that at least 15,000 Germans would be willing to resort to violence against sanitary measures.
Germany announced on the 2nd of a partial lockdown in the country, which is facing an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases and registered records of daily deaths this month. The new rules determine that those who did not receive doses of the immunizing agent will be prevented from accessing almost all establishments, except supermarkets and pharmacies, places considered essential.
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