BERLIN (AP) — German police on Wednesday arrested five teenagers accused of involvement with a right-wing extremist group calling itself “Last Defense Wave” that allegedly aimed to destabilize the country's democratic system by carrying out attacks on migrants and political opponents.
The early-morning arrests in various parts of Germany were accompanied by searches at 13 properties, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Four of those arrested — identified only as Benjamin H., Ben-Maxim H., Lenny M. and Jason R., in line with German privacy rules — are suspected of membership in a domestic terror organization. The fifth, Jerome M., is accused of supporting the group. Two of the arrested also are accused of attempted murder and aggravated arson. All are between the ages of 14 and 18.
Prosecutors said they are also investigating three other people, ages 18 to 21, who are already in custody. All the suspects are German citizens.
According to the prosecutors, the group was formed in mid-April 2024 or earlier. They said that its members saw themselves as the last resort to defend the “German nation” and aimed to bring about the collapse of Germany's democratic order, with attacks on homes for asylum-seekers and on facilities associated with the left-wing political spectrum.
Two of the suspects set a fire at a cultural center in Altdöbern in eastern Germany in October, prosecutors said, adding that several people living in the building at the time escaped injury only by chance.
In January, another two suspects allegedly broke a window at a home for asylum-seekers in Schmölln and tried unsuccessfully to start a blaze by setting off fireworks. They daubed the group's initials and slogans such as “Foreigners out,” “Germany for the Germans” and “Nazi area," as well as swastikas, prosecutors said.
Also in January, three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on a home for asylum-seekers in Senftenberg, but it never came about because of the earlier arrests of two of the men.
Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said it was “particularly shocking” that all of those arrested Wednesday were minors at the time the group was allegedly founded.
“This is an alarm signal and it shows that right-wing extremist terrorism knows no age,” Hubig said in a statement.
In a separate case a week ago, German authorities banned a far-right group called “Kingdom of Germany” as a threat to the country's democratic order and arrested four of its alleged leaders.
In an annual report released Tuesday, the Federal Criminal Police Office said that the number of violent crimes with a right-wing motivation was up 17.2% last year to 1,488. That was part of an overall increase in violent politically motivated offenses to 4,107, an increase of 15.3%.
Police search rooms in the 'Altes Postamt' building in Neubukow, Germany, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Bernd Wuestneck/dpa via AP)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A jury has convicted a former Navy SEAL with neo-Nazi beliefs of transporting fireworks across state lines with plans to shoot explosives at police during last year's “No Kings” protest in San Diego, federal prosecutors said.
Following his conviction on Monday, Gregory Vandenberg was ordered held in custody until his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled. He faces up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
During a five-day trial in Albuquerque, New Mexico, prosecutors outlined Vandenberg's intention to travel from El Paso, Texas, to California to injure law enforcement officers at the June 14 rally.
Investigators found messages on his phone indicating he was angry with President Donald Trump because he believed the U.S. government is controlled by Israel and the Jewish people, according to prosecutors. His home screen on his phone displayed a picture of the Taliban flag.
FBI agents testified that they found clothing and paraphernalia in Vandenberg’s car with anti-Israel slogans and neo-Nazi symbols, including a flag for the militant group the Caucasian Front and a message in Latin saying “Judea must be destroyed."
Vandenberg, 49, stopped at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico, on June 12 and purchased six large mortar fireworks as well as 72 M-150 firecrackers, which are designed to sound like gunfire. He told the store clerk that he had significant knowledge of explosives and prior special operations forces experience, and he outlined his intentions to harm police at the upcoming demonstration, prosecutors said.
Vandenberg, who had no stable employment and lived in his car, urged the clerk to join him, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. While in the store, he wore a T-shirt with the word “Amalek” on the front, which he said he designed specifically to mean “destroyer of Jews,” the statement said.
Store employees wrote down his license plate and contacted authorities. Vandenberg was arrested June 13 while sleeping in his car at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. He told FBI agents he was traveling for work, despite being unemployed, and visiting friends in Phoenix, prosecutors said.
Vandenberg was convicted of transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure or intimidate and attempted transportation of prohibited fireworks into California. A phone message was left Tuesday seeking comment from his attorney, Russell Dean Clark.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison said in a statement that the verdict shows that the government will prosecute those who intend to use violence to express political beliefs.
“People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully,” Ellison said. “What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others. Vandenberg intended to turn explosives into a tool of intimidation.”
This photo provided by U.S. Attorney's Office shows a hat with Al-Qaeda flag that was found in former Navy SEAL Seal Gregory Vandenberg vehicle by authorities. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP)
This photo provided by U.S. Attorney's Office shows clothing displaying antisemitic, anti-Israel, and extremist symbols that were found in former Navy SEAL Seal Gregory Vandenberg vehicle by authorities. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP)
