The extent of the right-wing extremist chat groups within the police is far greater than known. The question of a network is becoming increasingly loud, because according to the latest findings, officials from several praesidia are under suspicion. As Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) announced on Tuesday in a special meeting of the Interior Committee, a total of 56 officials have come together in seven chat groups in which incitatory content and anti-constitutional symbols such as swastikas have been sent. According to Beuth, 13 SEK police officers affected by the allegations were deployed during the racially motivated terrorist attack in Hanau on February 19 last year.

According to Beuth, there are no criminal or disciplinary investigations against 24 officials because there are no allegations against them.

When asked by Left MP Hermann Schaus whether these participants were not being investigated because they had not actively participated in the chats, Beuth replied evasively.

Apparently the now larger group consists of 49 active police officers from Hesse, seven of the 56 people are no longer police officers or have no relation to the police.

Not just Frankfurt police officers

The investigators had seized several thousand files, photos and videos on various data carriers such as cell phones, laptops and USB sticks from the 38-year-old main suspect, who is also being investigated for child pornography. A total of 1,800 chats were evaluated. In the groups were mainly Frankfurt SEK officers, but also other police officers from several praesidia, the state criminal investigation office, the riot police and the state police headquarters. One of the former SEK officers had been working as a trainer at the police academy since 2018.

Meanwhile, the special investigator Stefan Müller and police chief Gerhard Bereswill announced to the committee what exactly they found in the rooms of the now disbanded Special Operations Command (SEK) of the Frankfurt police. Accordingly, members of the elite unit had placed various items related to the movie "300". The strip, which is roughly based on the historical battle of the Spartans against the Persian invaders at Thermopylae, is accused by critics of supporting fascist tendencies; sometimes it is used by right-wing extremists to glorify their ideology. In connection with this, the so-called lambda sign hung on the wall in the rooms. This is also used by the right-wing extremist "Identitarian Movement".

Dimensions that were previously unknown

The SPD parliamentary group leader Nancy Faeser spoke of a dimension that was previously unknown, so far the suspects have mostly been officials of the Frankfurt SEK.

Stefan Müller, domestic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, said of the new revelations: "If 49 police officers, two former police officers and five external people in a total of seven chat groups with different compositions talk about right-wing extremist content according to the public prosecutor's office, then you can only do that describe it as a right-wing extremist network in the police. "