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In mid-April, around 50 people protested against the requirements of the Crown, the hour of “lateral thinking” was born. Meanwhile, thousands are demonstrating across the country, repeatedly including Reich citizens and right-wing extremists. The protection of the constitution in Baden-Württemberg is now intervening. But what does that mean?
At first there are only a few dozen participants who take to the streets of Stuttgart against the measures of the crown. But quickly there are more and more. Protests against the crown soon ceased to be confined to Stuttgart: at the end of August, tens of thousands of “lateral thinkers” gathered in Berlin. In addition to the symbols of peace and the banners of hearts, the imperial flags fly over the heads of the participants. The movement is increasingly being hijacked by right-wing extremists and Reich citizens. Now, at least in Baden-Württemberg, it is clear: “lateral thinking” is a case for the protection of the constitution.
Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl gave the reasons for the decision. Therefore, an observation by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution is “indispensable”. Legitimate protest against state measures to contain the crown pandemic is increasingly giving way to fundamental hostility towards the state and politics on a disturbing scale, Strobl continued. The central actors fed the “hatred of the state” with false claims and thus ultimately acted “undemocratic”.
How is the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution acting now against “lateral thinking”?
For a long time, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been collecting publicly available information on the movement. Now the full range of intelligence means can be used, such as online surveillance, observation or the use of informants. However, the secret service only looks at the “organizational structures”, that is, the bosses and organizers. Participating in demonstrations does not make anyone suspicious, Strobl emphasizes. “Most of the participants in the ‘lateral thinking’ demonstrations are not extremists.” Criticism of the government’s action and demonstrations are part of our basic free democratic order, the Interior Minister said.
Who is behind the group?
Stuttgart’s “lateral thinking 711” is the core of the now active nationwide Corona protest movement. It was founded by information technology entrepreneur Michael Ballweg, who organized the first demonstrations against measures to combat the pandemic in the spring.
The mix of participants is diverse: the spectrum ranges from leftists to liberals and conservatives, through far-right camps and right-wing populists, and from concerned families with children to coronavirus deniers, esotericists, vaccine opponents, representatives of the more various conspiracy myths and citizens of the Reich. With “lateral thinking” there is no formal membership, as it is not an association or a party. The movement is organized mainly through the Telegram messenger. The “Quer Think 711 Stuttgart” channel alone has more than 69,000 subscribers.
How does “lateral thinking” react to the observation of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution?
The initiator Ballweg considers the protective grounds of the Baden-Württemberg constitution absurd and untenable for an observation of his movement. He criticized that only “general and completely unsubstantiated rumors and accusations had been presented.” “We see the observation as a new attempt by the government to intimidate peaceful protesters and split the news.” That won’t work, but it will only lead to “the victimized people coming together even more.”
How radical is the movement?
Ballweg had always resisted accusations of extremism. “We are a peaceful movement and not a political party,” Ballweg said. However, their anti-crown demonstrations are rarely too peaceful: extreme right-wing slogans are chanted over and over again and violence often ensues. In connection with the Corona protests, the Berlin police are already committing 775 crimes, including attacks on officials and violations of the gun law.
A group of Reich citizens caused a stir during the “lateral thinking” demonstration in Berlin on August 29. Waving imperial flags, they broke through the barriers in front of the Reichstag and stormed the stairs in front of the building. Local police only managed to push back the mob in riots with difficulty. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the shocking scenes in front of the German Bundestag as an “unbearable attack on the heart of our democracy.”
A few months later, thousands of “lateral thinkers” demonstrated in Leipzig together and without masks. At night, the situation worsened. The participants invaded police chains and journalists denounced attacks. Known neo-Nazis from all over Germany, NPD supporters and hooligans were there. Even in the run-up to the demonstration, there were threats of violence. Supporters discussed a possible use of force on social media. “It’s going to sound like this in Leipzig,” says a Telegram group.
Ballweg distanced himself both from the attempted assault on the Reichstag in Berlin and from the excesses of violence in Leipzig. His initiative was peaceful, he said, and had nothing to do with these protesters. Extremism, violence, anti-Semitism, and inhumane ideas have as little place in “lateral thinkers” as the symbols of these ways of thinking.
How are “lateral thinkers” interconnected?
The last time the security authorities were aware of it was at a meeting of the “lateral thinkers” with Peter Fitzek in Thuringia, which was said to have been attended by almost 100 participants. The authorities consider Fitzek as part of the Reich Citizens Movement, years ago he proclaimed his own “Kingdom of Germany”. In a statement, the “lateral thinking 711” confirmed the “working meeting” with Fitzek at the “Hacienda Mexicana” in Saalfeld. The group denied the allegations of extremism. “That someone is called a citizen of the Reich by a third party,” it said in the statement, was “irrelevant to us.”
The protection of the constitution in Baden-Württemberg is convinced: “Think outside the box” in network specifically with right-wing extremists and citizens of the Reich. The State Office assigns several key actors of the movement to the midst of Reich citizens and self-administrators who deny the existence of the Federal Republic and deny democratic and constitutional structures. Founder Ballweg himself called a “constituent assembly” in the summer to camp out for fifteen days and work on a replacement for the Basic Law.
Are other countries following the example of Baden-Württemberg?
“It is good that the protection of the Constitution is taking action in Baden-Württemberg,” said the vice-chair of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast. “Right-wing extremists want to undermine our democracy and they are also using the protest against the crown’s restrictions.”
Addressing “lateral thinking” will also be a topic at the Interior Ministers Conference on Thursday. According to Beate Bube, head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Baden-Wuerttemberg, discussions are ongoing with federal and state offices, but an observation will be decided individually. The protection of the constitution in Bavaria is currently not looking at the “lateral thinking” movement as a whole, just individual people.
