GAccording to a report by “Stern”, at least 400 police officers in the federal states are being held in disciplinary or investigative proceedings on suspicion of right-wing extremist views or support for a conspiracy ideology. This was the result of a query in the 16 interior ministries, reports the magazine. However, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Bremen and Thuringia did not provide any current figures.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul told “Stern”: “Police officers who do not stand on the ground of the constitution but pursue extremist views are a great danger to democracy and the rule of law.” He wants these people in the police don't have it, said the CDU politician.
The magazine quotes the Bundestag police commissioner, Uli Grötsch (SPD), as saying: “We live in times in which right-wing extremists are deliberately trying to destabilize the police.” The danger is greater than ever.
Investigations into possible extremists in the ranks of federal and state security authorities have been ongoing for years. The Federal Ministry of the Interior had already published a situation report on this in 2022. At that time it became known that 327 employees had come to attention within three years because of demonstrable connections to right-wing extremism or the Reich Citizens scene.