It is digging journalists at the reputable public service stations NDR and WDR together with the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung who mapped the teenagers who are suspected. They are suspected of having attacked Ecke when he put up posters ahead of the European Parliament elections where he is a candidate.
He had to be taken to hospital for surgery and later posted a selfie of his battered face.
Young members
The tracks lead to a right-wing extremist group called Elblandrevolte, which appears to be newly formed. In any case, it has not been known until this year and is primarily aimed at young people via social media.
The number of members in Elblandrevolte must be in the double digits. So it’s not a big movement, but what worries the authorities is that the members seem to be very young. At a May Day gathering in Dresden, youths aged 14 to 15 marched behind banners with far-right messages, according to eyewitnesses.
– We have recently seen an increased presence and activity in Dresden from classic neo-Nazi organizations that particularly target young men and teenagers, says Andrea Hübler, director of operations at RAA, a counseling center for people affected by right-wing extremist violence, to NDR.
Massive protests
At least one of the now suspected men has been active in far-right protests in the community of Bautzen in eastern Germany, according to research by NDR, WDR and Süeddutsche Zeitung. The place has long been infamous for its right-wing extremism, but more recently also for democratic forces that opposed the right-wing extremists.
One reason for the political violence is considered to be the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) party, which sits in the German Bundestag. The party has enough links to neo-Nazism to give the security police the right to investigate them, according to a court order.
During the spring, large demonstrations against AFD and right-wing extremist groups were held all over Germany. The extensive protests were triggered after leaks that AFD discussed how migrants should be expelled from the country.