Angela Merkel ally placed under police guard after far-right death threat ending ‘Heil Hitler’

Email sent by right-wing extremists warned Mike Mohring he would be stabbed or bombed if he did not pull out of election

Andy Gregory
Monday 21 October 2019 18:28 BST
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Mike Mohring has received two death threats since his colleague Walter Lübcke was murdered in June, which a far-right extremist initially confessed to
Mike Mohring has received two death threats since his colleague Walter Lübcke was murdered in June, which a far-right extremist initially confessed to

One of Angela Merkel’s key allies has been placed under protection by German police after receiving a death threat from a far-right extremist group which ended with the words "Heil Hitler".

An email sent to Mike Mohring, a regional leader of the chancellor's Christian Democratic Union of Germany Party (CDU), warned he would be stabbed or bombed at a rally if he continued campaigning in an upcoming election.

He is standing in a regional vote on 27 October in the eastern state of Thuringia, where CDU are vying for second place with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The email, sent on Saturday, told Mr Mohring he would be stabbed in the neck or blown up in a car bomb if he did not pull out of the race.

The message concluded with the Nazi salute, “Sieg Heil and Heil Hitler!” It was signed by the “Musicians of the State Coup Orchestra”, described in the email as “a group of globally connected right-wing extremists”.

“This is a warning and there will not be a second one,” said the message, which Mr Mohring shared on Twitter. It added: “This applies to all the leftist and ecological pussies out there, we will enslave you first and then exterminate you.”

Thuringia’s serious crime unit is investigating the death threat against Mr Mohring, a police spokesperson said.

Police and intelligence agencies in Germany are already under pressure to step up action against right-wing extremists after an antisemitic militant killed two people earlier this month in attacks on a synagogue and a kebab restaurant in the eastern city Halle.

One of Mr Mohring's CDU colleagues, Walter Lubcke, the district president of neighbouring Kassel, was shot in the head at close range outside his home in June by a suspected neo-Nazi.

A far-right extremist initially admitted to the murder, citing the politician’s pro-refugee stance as a motive, although his lawyer later said the confession had been retracted.

In September, Mr Mohring received a postcard which, according to CDU’s general secretary in Thuringia, said: “Number two, who will soon receive a head shot.”

Despite the threat, Mr Mohring stated his determination to campaign for election in a video posted on his Twitter page: He said: “We have to stand together in Thuringia. We must not leave room for those who scare."

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AfD’s Thuringia branch is led by Bjoern Hoecke, an anti-immigrant former history teacher who has drawn criticism from Jewish leaders and mainstream politicians for calling Berlin's Holocaust memorial a “monument of shame”. He has also demanded schools emphasise German suffering during lessons on World War Two.

After the Halle attacks, the AfD’s anti-immigrant rhetoric was criticised as contributing to an atmosphere of hate that encouraged political violence.

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