“Feuerkrieg Division”: Right-wing extremist (20) was an activist of the Identitarian Party

Court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn confirmed this to the APA on Tuesday. Before his investigation, the man had already made a name for himself as an activist in the Austrian Identitarian Movement (IBÖ).

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The latter emerges from the 2023 Constitutional Protection Report, which was made public a few days ago. The Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) confirmed this on Tuesday. The man was present at meetings, received information material from the IBÖ and was also on the distribution list, said a spokeswoman in response to an APA request. According to the online magazine “ZackZack”, the defendant is said to have had connections to a fraternity and shared content in a student association WhatsApp group.

Instructions for 3D printing weapons

The DSN had been keeping an eye on the graduate of a Viennese technical college for some time. In 2020, the then 17-year-old was noticed, who had joined the “Feuerkrieg Division” under the username “V00rm” and was involved in the violent “White Supremacy” movement. “He shared several files that dealt with right-wing extremist radicalization, weapon construction, trap construction, documents on guerrilla warfare, and instructions on how to set up and lead paramilitary and non-military organizations. In addition, instructions for weapon modifications using 3D printers were shared with the radical FKD members,” the 2023 Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution report says about the young man.

Call for racial war

The FKD propagated a “race war” or “holy war” and called for attacks on synagogues and mosques. Jews were “controlling the system,” it was claimed. The group had 50 to 70 members – according to the report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, “mostly young, ideologically strong and extremely violent neo-Nazis.” The images and text that were exchanged via the messenger service Telegram were “clearly anti-Semitic, racist, glorifying the Nazis, terroristic and inciting violence.” The members also sent each other instructions on how to build weapons and how to make homemade explosives.

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“V00rm”, whom the Vienna public prosecutor’s office accuses of criminal association, incitement and incitement to punishable acts in addition to National Socialist re-activation, announced in a chat that he wanted to go to a synagogue to use chlorine gas there. He also talked about how he would use his weapons.

Not noticed at HTL

The investigation of the accused proved difficult and was only successful in the spring of 2023, as he skillfully concealed his electronic traces through encryption. His education at a Viennese technical college may have been of benefit to him. At the school where the boy graduated, his right-wing activities and extremist views were not noticed, as the director of the technical college explained. Apart from swastika graffiti, which occurred from time to time, no abnormalities in the direction of National Socialism were detectable at the school, the headmaster explained.

The investigative measures against “V00rm” initially failed due to CG-NAT IP addresses, which do not provide any information about the user or the actual location of a device, Telegram’s lack of cooperation and the young man’s caution. He did not reveal his identity on other social networks and did not post anything under his real name. The young “fire warrior” was only discovered after extensive investigations, thanks to international cooperation and detailed analyzes of chat content.

“Explosive twist”

“Should I pray with the dirty Muslims or mingle with the Jews when they hold one of their meetings and give it an explosive twist?” the 20-year-old asked one of his chart partners. At another point he advised: “Or you can just mix bleach and ammonia in a bottle, shake it a bit and throw it into a group of Jews.” The mixing releases deadly chlorine gas. At another point, the young man fantasized that “the time would soon come” to “put the Jews in their place.”

The right-wing extremist also had contact with the assassin who killed two young men with a firearm in front of an LGBTIQ bar in Bratislava in October 2022. During a house search in May 2023, an arsenal of weapons, gas masks and Nazi devotional items were seized from the 20-year-old. Instructions for making bombs and making firearms were later discovered. The analysis of the seized data carriers also revealed that he had collected information about right-wing terrorist attacks, rampages, assassins, weapons and shooting training and had obtained a balaclava, flame-retardant overalls, tactical equipment and military clothing. He is also said to have specifically inquired about the Vienna City Temple of the Jewish Community – an indication that he may have had an attack specifically in mind.