Crime committed by radical climate activists hits record high

The number of criminal offences committed by radical climate activists has reached new heights. Even though Germany's right wing has repeatedly warned over the past years that violence on the part of the activists is a growing tendency, the federal government remains silent, the V4NA international news agency writes.

Brüsszel, 2023. szeptember 7. Michael O'Leary-nek, a Ryanair vezérigazgatójának (j) az arcába nyom egy tortát egy aktivista az Európai Bizottság brüsszeli székháza elõtt 2023. szeptember 7-én. O'Leary petícióban követeli a bizottság közbenjárását, hogy írják elõ a tagállamoknak, hogy a légiforgalmi irányítók munkabeszüntetésekor is engedjék át a légterüket érintõ járatokat. Követelik továbbá azt is, hogy 21 nappal a sztrájk elõtt értesítést kapjanak a légitársaságok a munkabeszüntetés tényérõl, valamint 72 órával korábban a sztrájkolók számáról, hogy ezzel is csökkentsék a légiforgalmi fennakadásokat. A petíciót eddig több mint másfél millióan írtak alá. MTI/EPA/Olivier Hoslet Fotó: Olivier Hoslet

A task force set up of more than 40 German federal and state authorities has reported an unprecedented increase in the number of crimes committed by radical climate activists. The group has already registered 163 such cases this year, up by 300 per cent compared to the same period last year, V4NA writes.

Meanwhile, the federal government remains silent, at least it declined to comment on specific cases in response to a inquiry from the federal parliamentary group of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The traffic light coalition government of the Social Democrats, Greens and liberals refused to disclose information, citing concerns for the state’s welfare.

At the same time, the federal government has confirmed that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is monitoring how violent left-wing extremists are trying to influence actors in the climate movement. The authorities believe that the so-called Interventionist Left (IL) is playing a crucial role in this process.The IL has been monitored by several constitutional protection agencies for years, and has been blamed for the mass riots at the G20 summit in Hamburg in 2017, in which hundreds of police officers were injured. The federal government has not commented on the more prominent groups Fridays for Future and Last Generation. The reason for this, according to the government, is that the disclosure of information could hamper the future work of the authorities responsible for protecting the constitution.

In the meantime, there has been an increase in politically motivated crimes related to climate change.

By 1 August, the federal government had registered such 1144 cases. The most common crime was damage to property with 372 offences, followed by coercion/threats with 271 offences. The federal government also recorded 129 violent crimes. Of these, 57 were assaults and 21 were arson. It is not clear from the government’s response exactly which groups committed these crimes.

Martin Hess, AfD’s home affairs expert, warned in January of a further radicalisation of climate activists. He criticised Social Democratic Interior Minister Nancy Faeser for not taking action against the situation.

Those who so stubbornly refuse to face up to the facts are encouraging the radicalisation of activists, which is becoming ever more rampant, making themselves complicit in future crimes,

AfD’s politician told the German Junge Freiheit portal, V4NA reports.

Cover photo: Illustration (Photo: MTI/EPA/Olivier Hoslet)