The head of the German counterintelligence Thomas Haldenwang, in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, announced the tendency for right-wing extremists in Germany to take advantage of demonstrations against quarantine measures.
For several weeks now, protests against restrictive measures introduced because of the coronavirus have been held in different cities of Germany from time to time. About one thousand people took part in numerous demonstrations in Berlin on Saturday, according to the city police.
“We see a trend where extremists, especially right-wing extremists, use demonstrations to their advantage”, – Haldenwang said, according to whom right-wing radicals are trying to establish contact with certain groups of people and urge their supporters to take part in protests.
The head of the BfV emphasized that there was a danger that right-wing extremists could lead coronavirus-related demonstrations. At the same time, according to him, at present the majority of participants in such actions are citizens who respect the FRG constitution.
“We are concerned that extremists are using the current situation in the same way as the so-called migration crisis”, – he said.
The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Royle also told the publication that “many wolves in sheep’s clothing”, which put forward “anti-democratic slogans”, are taking part in actions against restrictive measures.