German climate attacks: The police carry out nationwide searches against the last generation of climate activists

CNN
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German investigators have launched a nationwide raid against members of the last-generation climate activist group, Munich’s public prosecutor’s office said Wednesday.

A total of 15 properties in seven German states have been searched as part of the raids carried out on behalf of the Bavarian State Criminal Police (LKA) and the public prosecutor’s office in Munich, authorities said.

Four searches took place in Berlin, three in Bavaria and three in Hesse. There were further actions in Hamburg, Magdeburg, Dresden and Schleswig-Holstein, authorities said.

The public prosecutor’s office in Munich said it had opened a preliminary investigation “due to numerous criminal complaints from the public” against a total of seven defendants, aged 22 to 38, “accused of forming or supporting a criminal organization.” The notifications have been received since mid-2022.

Specifically, the defendants are accused of organizing a fundraising campaign to fund “further crimes” for the last generation, advertising it on their website and collecting at least 1.4 million euros ($1.5 million) in donations.

Two defendants are also suspected of having attempted to sabotage the Trieste-Ingolstadt oil pipeline in April 2022, LKA states.

Activists with Last Generation have been blocking roads across Germany for about a year by gluing themselves to streets. Other campaigns have targeted works of art. The climate protection organization says its protests are exclusively non-violent.