Shooting training and attack plans: The list of dangerous activities in “Knockout 51” is long. Some of its members are already on trial – and now more people have been arrested.
The judiciary and police have once again taken action against the right-wing extremist martial arts group “Knockout 51”. In the morning there were three arrests in connection with investigations against the group, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe.
Two people were arrested because of their alleged membership in “Knockout 51”, the third man because of his alleged support of the group. Four properties in Thuringia were searched. According to dpa information, these searches took place in Erfurt and Eisenach.
Particularly violent right-wing extremists have gathered in the ranks of “Knockout 51” in recent years. The group was primarily active in the Eisenach area.
“Knockout 51” is a right-wing extremist martial arts group “that, under the guise of joint physical training, attracted young, nationalist-minded men, consciously indoctrinated them with right-wing extremist ideas and encouraged physical confrontations with police officers, members of the political left-wing scene and others people deemed worthy of combat,” says a statement from the Federal Prosecutor General.
Suspected ringleader arrested
According to the Federal Prosecutor General, one of those now arrested is said to have been one of the group’s leading figures. He founded “Knockout 51” in March 2019 at the latest together with three of the four defendants, against whom a major state security case has been underway at the Jena Higher Regional Court for several weeks. The man trained members and candidates of the group in the spirit of their right-wing extremist ideology and also led so-called “neighborhood patrols”.
The man who was arrested as a supporter is a long-time leading figure in the right-wing extremist scene nationwide. According to the Federal Prosecutor General, he is suspected of having made a property in Eisenach available as a training location and weapons storage facility for “Knockout 51”.
Deadly attack planned
The third person arrested is said to have joined the group in March 2019 and took part in martial arts and shooting training. Together with the alleged ringleader, who has now been arrested, he is said to have planned to carry out a fatal attack on left-wing extremists in September 2021.
The plan failed. He should have driven a car into the opponents. The three people arrested are due to be brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice later in the day.
Classification as a terrorist organization
Even with these searches and arrests, the investigations against “Knockout 51” have not been completed, said the spokeswoman in Karlsruhe. Contrary to the preliminary legal opinion of the Jena Higher Regional Court, the Federal Prosecutor General continues to classify “Knockout 51” as a terrorist organization.
Four suspected members of “Knockout 51” are currently having to answer before the Jena Higher Regional Court. The men had planned, among other things, to kill their political opponents by using knives, axes and machetes, it was said during the reading of the indictment.
Source: Stern
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