Dutch found during German police raid on Neonazi martial arts event
The German police raided a neo-Nazi martial arts event in Hachenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, on Saturday evening. Multiple Dutch people were found at the event, as were several minors, the police said. No one was arrested.
According to the German police, the event was organized by Der Dritte Weg, a neo-Nazi political party classified as a right-wing extremist organization. About 130 people attended. The police did not say how many were Dutch, only saying that some attendees had “traveled from all over Germany and the Netherlands.”
A boxing ring had been set up on site, and several attendees were wearing martial arts clothing, the police said.
Around 200 police officers raided the event. The raid took multiple hours, starting at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and only concluding at around 2:30 a.m. the next morning. The police seized “numerous” items “that clearly indicate right-wing extremist sentiments” and are investigating whether possession of these objects is punishable. They also seized some drugs and a weapon.
German Interior Minister Michael Ebling told local media that such gatherings often appear to be harmless but serve to consolidate right-wing extremist networks. “The operation in Hachenburg sends a clear signal to all those who try to exceed the limits of our free and democratic basic order: We will resolutely oppose them,” the Minister said. “Our zero-tolerance policy towards enemies of the constitution is non-negotiable.”
