The residential apartments of alleged right-wing extremists in several states in Germany had been raided by police as part of an investigation into a far-right extremist group who are suspected of plotting armed attacks against police, asylum seekers and Jews, although so far investigators have not found evidence pointing to solid terror plans.
The Spiegel reported that about 200 police officers were deployed and search the homes of seven people - six of whom are believed to be part of the "Reichsbürger" group and suspected of having formed a terrorist organization. Another individual's home was raided after they reportedly helped the group obtain arms and ammunition, reported Deutsche Welle.
The chief prosecutor's office said in a statement that the goal of the raid "was to obtain further evidence of the actual creation of a formal group, as well as the alleged planned criminal acts and any potential tools." The suspects reportedly started planning armed attacks in the spring of 2016.
Believed to be part of the "Reichsbürger" group -which translates to "Citizen of the Reich," the suspects were largely connected via social media and the group hold onto the claims that the German Reich continues to this day and does not recognize the Federal Republic.
The "Reichsbürger" group received a lot of media attention when one of their members shot dead a police officer last October during a police raid to seize the man's firearms.
According to President of the Federal Office for Constitutional Protection Hans-Georg Maaßen, the Federal Office for Constitutional Protection warned that their numbers were growing and they are currently counting about 10,000 people on the "Reichsbürger' scene."
"The 'Reichsbürger' have a high attractiveness and continues to attract new supporters. Not all member refer to the German Reich. In many cases, we are dealing with people who want to found their own state or their own community," Maaßen added.
