Hundreds of far-right German Reichsbrger still armed, own gun permits
Hundreds of German Reichsbürger still own firearms despite police efforts to disarm the movement. The group, which refuses to recognize the federal government, gained traction after a member killed a policeman in 2016. A joint investigation published on Tuesday by German broadcaster NDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung found that as many as 600 members still own rifles and pistols, while only around half of all known members have had their permits revoked.
The findings come almost two years after all of Germany's regional interior ministers across the 16 states agreed to disarm the radical movement. The decision was made after a Reichsbürger member shot dead a policeman and injured three others in Bavaria in October 2016.
The Reichsbürger movement (roughly translated as "Citizens of the Reich"
subscribes to the idea that the 1937 borders of the German Empire still exist and that the modern-day Federal Republic is effectively a puppet state still occupied by the Allied powers.
According to Germany's domestic intelligence agency, as many as 18,000 people are believed to be part of the movement, several of whom have been classed as violent right-wing extremists with an affinity for weapons.
https://www.dw.com/en/hundreds-of-far-right-german-reichsb%C3%BCrger-still-armed-own-gun-permits/a-45819762
