Eight men suspected of plotting to install a Nazi regime in eastern states of Germany were arrested amid a massive police operation early on Tuesday.

About 450 law enforcement officials are raiding premises in cities in the state of Saxony, as well as in Austria and in Poland, where one of the men was picked up, according to a statement by Germany’s federal prosecutor.  

The eight men and seven more suspects are allegedly members or supporters of the “Saxonian Separatists” terrorist group founded in 2020. They reject the liberal democratic order and have conducted military training, including urban warfare, to be prepared to take over control on “day X” when Germany collapses, a development they saw as inevitable, prosecutors said.

“It is a militant group of 15 to 20 individuals whose ideology is characterised by racist, anti-Semitic and partially apocalyptic ideas,” according to the statement. They also plotted “ethnic cleansing to remove unwanted groups of people if necessary”.

In similar raids two years ago, 25 people were arrested and are currently standing trial in three courts for plotting to overthrow the government and replace democracy with a political regime inspired by the country’s imperial past. 

One of the men arrested on Tuesday is a member of Germany’s far-right party AfD, Der Spiegel reported, without saying where it got the information. The AfD didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking comment.

“Our security authorities have broken up another suspected terrorist group of militant right-wing extremists” at an early stage, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a separate statement. “This is a very important success.” 

  - Bloomberg