German police arrest teenage neo-Nazis over alleged attacks on migrants
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German police have staged early morning raids against an alleged far-right “terrorist” cell on suspicion of attacks against asylum seekers and political enemies, arresting five teenage suspects, federal prosecutors have said.
The operation on Wednesday targeting a neo-Nazi group calling itself “Last Defence Wave” marked the latest high-profile action against groups Germany says are working to destabilise its democratic order.
Four of those arrested – named only as Benjamin H, Ben-Maxim H, Lenny M and Jason R, in line with German privacy rules – are suspected of membership of a “domestic terror organisation”. The fifth, Jerome M, is accused of supporting the group.
Two of the suspects are accused of attempted murder and aggravated arson. All five are German citizens between the ages of 14 and 18.
Prosecutors said in a statement they were also investigating three other people, aged 18 to 21, who are already in custody in connection with the case. The arrests took place in three states and were accompanied by searches at 13 properties in five regions.
Authorities believe the Last Defence Wave group began in April 2024 at the latest. The justice minister, Stefanie Hubig, said what was “particularly shocking is that all those arrested today are said to have been minors when the terrorist group was founded”.
“This is an alarm signal and it shows that rightwing extremist terrorism knows no age,” she said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the group’s members “see themselves as the last line of defence of the ‘German nation’”. Their intent is “to bring about the collapse of the democratic system in the Federal Republic of Germany through acts of violence, primarily against migrants and political opponents”.
Content retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/21/german-police-arrest-teenage-neo-nazis-for-alleged-attacks-on-migrants.
