Police comb through Gardelegen: right-wing extremists under suspicion!

Police comb through Gardelegen: right-wing extremists under suspicion!

On September 11, 2025, several apartments in Gardelegen, in the Altmark district of Salzwedel, were searched. The police secured evidence from suspected supporters of the right-wing scene. This campaign focused on suspected crimes on the Internet. According to reports from MDR This search is part of a nationwide strategy to combat hate and crime online.

A total of three objects related to right-wing structures were searched. The investigators have a larger complex in mind, involving a large number of crimes that fall into the lower three-digit range. These crimes are particularly linked to publications on social networks. Suspicions point to incitement to hatred and the use of unconstitutional symbols, and even violations of the Association Act have apparently been identified.

What was secured?

The accused include a 33-year-old and his 38-year-old partner. During the searches, officers seized numerous storage media, items of clothing with unconstitutional symbols, as well as medication and a prohibited item that falls under the Weapons Act. Concrete details about this item have not yet been released by the police. These measures were led by the Central Criminal Investigation Department of the Stendal Police Station and the central contact point for combating hate crime at the public prosecutor's office. Additional searches in Saxony-Anhalt are already being prepared.

This action is just one part of a comprehensive crackdown on the increase in hate postings on the Internet. Police authorities in Germany have noticed a dramatic increase in such criminal content in recent years. A report from daily news shows that the number of registered cases more than quadrupled between 2021 and 2024. A total of 10,732 cases were registered in 2024.

Right-wing extremism on the internet

The explosive increase in hate postings is partly seen as the result of increased investigation into the so-called dark field. Two thirds of this criminal content comes from the right-wing spectrum, while other ideologies, including left-wing and religious groups, also occasionally commit hate postings. The most common crimes on the Internet include sedition, the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations and insults.

In a brochure, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution examined how the Internet functions as a motor for right-wing extremist radicalization. According to the analysis Right-wing extremist actors use internet platforms not only to spread their propaganda, but also to network and recruit new members. Social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Steam and Telegram play a particularly central role here.

These approaches underline how important it is to actively combat hate and hate speech online. The security authorities and civil society are called upon to decisively counter the growing phenomenon. The measures make it clear: hate has no place in our society, and the prosecution of such crimes remains a central concern.