[ad_1]
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution observes the movement of “lateral thinking” in Baden-Württemberg
| Reading time: 2 minutes
“Pandemic of lies” is written on the sign at a demonstration against the crown in Göppingen
Source: dpa / Christoph Schmidt
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Baden-Württemberg is the first state office in Germany to observe the “lateral thinking” movement. The reason for the move is growing radicalization. Activists have been demonstrating against Corona’s policy for months.
rehe State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Baden-Württemberg is the first in Germany to observe the “lateral thinking” movement. As the German Press Agency (dpa) in Stuttgart learned on Wednesday, the state office classified “lateral thinking 711” as an object of observation.
The group, which has been taking to the streets for months against state-imposed crown restrictions, is becoming radicalized and has been infiltrated by extremists, according to security circles. The founder of the “lateral thinking” movement is Stuttgart businessman Michael Ballweg.
Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) and Constitution Protection Chair Beate Bube want to provide information on Wednesday morning (December 9, 11:00 am) on how to deal with the “innovative thinking,” said a spokesman for the dpa ministry. Strobl had recently warned of the growing influence of extremists and constitutional enemies in the ranks of “lateral thinkers.” The movement is fueled by “Reich citizens”, self-administrators, right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists who instrumentalized the protesters.
The founder of Stuttgart’s “lateral thinking”, Ballweg, has repeatedly defended himself against the accusations. More recently, the businessman told dpa at the end of last week: “We are a peaceful movement and not a political party.” Extremism, violence, anti-Semitism, and inhumane ideas have as little place among “lateral thinkers” as the symbols of these ways of thinking.
Supporters of the “lateral thinking 711” initiative, the abbreviation comes from the Stuttgart phone code 0711, and branches of the movement have taken to the streets in numerous German cities against restrictions in the Corona crisis in recent months. The mix of participants is diverse: it ranges from quite bourgeois protesters, esotericists, pacifist movements to “citizens of the Reich” and openly right-wing extremists. Recently, there has been repeated violence in the vicinity of the demonstrations.
The conference of interior ministers also wants to address the issue this Thursday. Lower Saxony Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) had already called for the movement to be quickly monitored.
