# German prosecutors charge eight in neo-Nazi separatist case
Event date: 2025-09-10
German federal prosecutors have charged eight suspected members of a far-right extremist group accused of preparing to seize territory in Saxony and establish an independent state based on Nazi ideology.
The defendants are linked to the so-called Saxony Separatists, a group investigators say was founded in early 2020 and believed the German state was headed for collapse. Prosecutors allege the men prepared for a future “day X,” when they planned to use violence to take control of parts of eastern Germany and remove ethnic minorities as well as representatives of the existing state order.
According to the report, the charges include establishment of and membership in a terrorist organization and preparation of a treasonous undertaking. German public broadcaster MDR said the case will now go before a Dresden court, which must decide whether to allow the charges to proceed.
The evidence gathered by investigators included knives, machetes, ammunition, combat helmets, camouflage and other equipment found during searches of premises used by members. Prosecutors also say the group conducted target practice, house-to-house combat exercises, night marches and forced marches as part of its preparation.
Authorities first broke up the network in a police raid in November 2024. Eight defendants were arrested at that time. Prosecutors said the group at its peak had around 20 members and was united by a rejection of Germany’s democratic constitutional order.
The case has political ramifications as well. Three of those arrested had ties to the far-right Alternative for Germany party, and the AfD revoked their membership shortly after the arrests. One defendant, described by MDR as a former local AfD politician, was shot and injured by police after aiming a pistol at officers during arrest and is now facing an additional attempted murder charge.
The allegations are among the most serious brought against a German far-right network in recent years because they combine extremist ideology, weapons, military-style training and alleged plans for ethnic cleansing. Former justice minister Marco Buschmann said after the arrests that the case showed the need to defend Germany’s free democratic order from threats from many directions.
The federal prosecutor’s office says investigations into other suspected members or supporters are ongoing, so the case may widen further. For now, the charges formalize what investigators say was more than a fringe discussion group: a militant network preparing for a violent rupture with the German state.
If the court accepts the case, prosecutors will have an opportunity to test that account publicly against the defendants’ version of events. If it does not, the investigation will still stand as a major example of how German authorities are handling extremist groups that mix conspiracy thinking, weapons and explicit anti-democratic aims.
