German extremist arrested over operating alleged darknet assassination marketplace

German prosecutors have arrested a suspected far-right extremist accused of plotting the assassination of senior politicians through a website on the darknet, authorities said Tuesday.

The 49-year-old German-Polish national, identified only as Martin S., was detained in Dortmund earlier this week, according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. He is suspected of creating an online platform used to collect cryptocurrency donations to fund the killings of elected officials he had marked with “death sentences.”

The site also published instructions for making explosives and contained personal information about potential victims. It had reportedly been active since at least June.

German media reported that the website has been taken offline. While authorities have not disclosed the names of those targeted, Der Spiegel said the list included former chancellors Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz, along with several former ministers and other public figures.

Police also seized “criminal files” and “death sentences” against dozens of politicians, judges and prosecutors, as well as racist, antisemitic and conspiracy-related materials.

The suspect has been on the radar of German security agencies since 2020, when he drew attention for his role in COVID-19 protests. He is also believed to have long-standing ties to the neo-Nazi scene in Dortmund and to have taken part in far-right demonstrations.

Local media have linked Martin S. to the Reichsbürger movement, which rejects the legitimacy of the modern German state and insists that the pre-1945 German Reich continues to exist or should be restored.