Germany arrests Romanian man over alleged neo-Nazi coup plot

German authorities arrested a Romanian man, with prosecutors saying he is suspected of trying to set up a far-right terrorist group with the intention of helping to bring down the Romanian state and establish a new state based on National Socialism.

Prosecutors believe the man has been working to establish a far-right extremist group since early 2023. 

"To recruit members for the organization, the accused operated two channels via a messaging service from Germany," a statement said. "These were aimed in particular at young Romanians."

The suspect is alleged to have incited subscribers and members of the messaging service to commit various criminal offences, such as spraying graffiti featuring far-right symbols, encouraging young girls to self-harm, carrying out arson attacks on buildings used by migrants or members of the LGBTQ+ community, or killing what he referred to as "subhumans."

He also shared instructions for how to produce poison and explosives, or make Molotov cocktails and car bombs, the prosecutors in Germany's Karlsruhe said.

The accused is therefore strongly suspected of having attempted, as ringleader, to establish a foreign terrorist organization, they added. 

The prosecutor's office also accuses him of preparing a serious act of violence that endangered the state. At the time of the offences, he is said to have been between 18 and 20 years old.

The man was detained in the Enz area of the southern state of Baden-Württemberg. He was later brought before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, who served him with an arrest warrant and ordered his pre-trial detention.