Arrest of Two Suspected Members and One Supporter of a Right-Wing Criminal and Terrorist Organisation

Year of issue 2023
Date 14.12.2023

Today (14 December 2023), the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office had agents of the Federal Criminal Police Office, special forces of the Federal Criminal Police and the Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt State Police arrest the German nationals

Kevin N.
Patrick W. and
Marvin W.

in execution of arrest warrants issued by the Investigating Judge at the Federal Court of Justice. Moreover, four properties in Thuringia were searched.

Kevin N. and Marvin W. are strongly suspected of membership in a criminal and terrorist organisation; Kevin N. allegedly formed the organisation and acted as its ringleader (section 129a para. 1, section 129a para. 1 no. 1, para. 4 of the German Criminal Code [StGB]). Patrick W. is strongly suspected of supporting a terrorist organisation (section 129a para. 1, section 129a para. 1 no. 1, para. 5 sentence 1 StGB).

Essentially, the arrest warrants set out the following facts:

Kevin N., in collaboration with Leon R., Maximilian A. and Eric K. – the latter three facing charges before the Thuringian Higher Regional Court (see Press Release No. 22 of 15 May 2023) – formed the organisation ‘Knockout 51’ in Eisenach no later than March 2019. It was a right-wing extremist martial arts group which attracted young men with nationalist views under the guise of joint physical exercises while indoctrinating them with a right-wing extremist agenda and training them for physical altercations with police officers, members of the political left and other individuals deemed worthy of combatting. Since the beginning, ‘Knockout 51’ was intent on committing acts of physical assault, at least. The organisation’s scope was extended to the killing of members of the far-left no later than end of April / early May 2021.

Kevin N. trained members and aspiring members of the group according to far-right ideals. He commanded ‘Kiezstreifen’ (neighbourhood watches) and played an important role in ensuring that ‘Die Heimat’ (formerly NPD) party events could take place at the ‘Flieder Volkshaus’ in Eisenach. He was also involved in ‘Knockout 51’ propaganda activities. In 2020 and 2021, Kevin N. and other members of the organisation travelled to various anti-COVID protests to actively engage in violent altercations with the police or opponents from the political left. In September 2021, ‘Knockout 51’ anticipated an imminent attack against Leon R. by left-wing extremists. The group planned to use the incident to launch a lethal counterattack. Kevin N. was supposed to secure the encounter, intervene if necessary and call for backup from the far-right in Erfurt via his contacts. Despite provocations from members of ‘Knockout 51’, a clash never materialised.

Patrick W. is a senior member of ‘Die Heimat’ in Eisenach. He enabled ‘Knockout 51’ to carry out martial arts training sessions at ‘Flieder Volkshaus’ starting in December 2019. He also provided them with a room to be used as a weapons cache on the premises. He participated in meetings and training sessions of the organisation. Patrick W., in tandem with Leon R., the leader of ‘Knockout 51’, pursued the goal to incorporate the group into the youth organisation of the party ‘Die Heimat’. Furthermore, he stood up for detained fellow members of ‘Knockout 51’, ensuring that they would be represented by ‘national lawyers’ from the far-right.

Marvin W. joined ‘Knockout 51’ as a member in March 2019. He participated in martial arts and firearms training sessions. He also patrolled neighbourhoods (‘Kiezstreifen’) in Eisenach and secured the ‘Flieder Volkshaus’. He also assisted Leon R. in the assembly of a firearm. Together with Kevin N., he went to Erfurt in September 2021 to carry out a fatal counterattack against left-wing extremists. His mission was to drive into the opponents with a vehicle.

The suspects are due to be brought before the Investigating Judge at the Federal Court of Justice today (14 December 2023) who will be reading out the arrests warrants to them and deciding on pre-trial detention.