Munich police announced Friday they are investigating 13 officers for internal and legal violations, including the sharing of objectionable content over social messaging services.

The Munich investigation follows prior revelations of right-wing extremist activity among German police forces and members of the military.

A chance discovery

In a statement posted online, the Munich police headquarters said five officers had been suspended from work in February, including one from a branch outside of Munich, and eight other officers had been transferred to different positions at the start of March.

The officers were part of the "Support Commando" ("Unterstützungskommando,"or USK) unit, and had apparently shared objectionable content with current and former colleagues in chat apps, the statement said.

The evidence was found on an officer's phone that was being examined as part of a separate investigation into a possible sexual offense.

The objectionable content included two YouTube videos with "possible anti-Semitic" content as well as an image of swastika graffiti in a Munich park. At least one video documenting the use of electroshock Tasers on other officers during training in violation of police rules was found on the phone.

The Munich public prosecutor's office and the Bavarian State Office for Criminal Investigation are considering possible charges against the officer.

Read more: German intelligence to boost observation of right-wing extremists

Munich Police President Andrä said his force would not tolerate any right-wing extremist behavior

Unacceptable and damaging

The president of the Munich police, Hubertus Andrä, described the behavior of the officers as fully unacceptable and damaging to the reputation of the force.

"We reacted quickly and forcefully to this type of behavior," Andrä said. "And we will continue to do so in the future.

"We do not tolerate right-wing extremist, xenophobic or anti-Semitic content being spread over the internet by the Bavarian police, including in their private affairs," Andrä added. "Whoever behaves like this is not welcome in police force ranks."

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany What do Reichsbürger believe? "Reichsbürger" translates to "citizens of the Reich." The nebulous movement rejects the modern German state, and insists that the German Empire's 1937 or 1871 borders still exist and the modern country is an administrative construct still occupied by Allied powers. For Reichsbürger, the government, parliament, judiciary and security agencies are puppets installed and controlled by foreigners.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany What do they do? The Reichsbürger refuse to pay taxes or fines. They see their personal property, such as their houses, as independent entities outside the authority of the Federal Republic of Germany, and reject the German constitution and other legal texts, but also swamp German courts with lawsuits. They produce their own aspirational documents such as passports and driving licenses.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany How much of a threat are they? The Reichsbürger scene began to develop in the 1980s and is a disparate, leaderless movement that has grown to about 19,000 supporters, according to German intelligence officials. Of those, about 950 have been identified as far-right extremists and at least 1,000 have a license to own firearms. Many subscribe to anti-Semitic ideologies.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany Who are its members? One was Mr. Germany According to German authorities, the average Reichsbürger is 50 years old, male, and is socially and financially disadvantaged. The movement's members are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of Germany. Adrian Ursache, a former winner of the Mister Germany beauty pageant, is also a Reichsbürger and was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2019 for shooting and injuring a policeman.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany Turning point The case of Wolfgang P., who in October 2017 was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a police officer, is seen as a turning point for how German authorities deal with the extremist group. P., an alleged Reichsbürger member, shot at officers who were raiding his home to confiscate weapons. The case gained international attention and set off alarm bells over the escalation of violence.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany What are the authorities doing about it? German authorities were accused of long underestimating the threat. In 2017 for the first time Germany’s domestic intelligence service documented extremist crimes perpetrated by individual Reichsbürger. Since then there have been several raids on Reichsbürger targets and subgroups have been banned. Police and military have also probed whether they have Reichsbürger in their own ranks.

The Reichsbürger movement in Germany International parallels, conspiracy theories Reichsbürger have been seen waving Russian flags, leading to allegations that they are funded by Russia with the aim to destabilize the German government. Germany's Reichsbürger are also compared to US groups such as "freemen-on-the-land," who believe that they are bound only by laws they consent to and can therefore declare themselves independent of the government and the rule of law. Author: Samantha Early, Rina Goldenberg



Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.