Police raids Bavarian far-right AfD, anti-vaxxer movement radicalises

The growing radicalisation of anti-vaxxers fuelled by the encrypted messaging service Telegram has prompted police raids on parliamentarians, as scientists warn the movement is becoming more violent.

As the new Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a “lockdown light” starting after Christmas and continues to press people to get vaccinated, the Bavarian police raided two flats following calls for violence on Telegram Channels.

The properties were owned by Bavarian “Alternative for Germany” politicians who issued messages on a Telegram channel called  “Alternative News Group Bavaria” in December 2020.

Eleven of the twelve Bavarian AfD MPs are on the 200 member-strong channel.

The raids come at a time when anti-vax groups are increasingly willing to utilise violence in defence of their “freedom” as restrictions tightened amid the fourth wave of the pandemic in Germany and the upcoming Omicron-fueled fifth.

“There is an increased proclamation of a ‘right to resist’,” explained political scientist Peter R. Neumann, adding that just a year ago, the movement had not progressed that far.

Scholz’s announcement for a vaccination mandate could be a sort of “signal” for these groups to opt for violence, he told BILD.

“A tougher police stance will be the logical consequence,” explained Jörg Kubiessa, police president.

(Nikolaus J. Kurmayer  | EURACTIV.de)