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It’s a scene that triggered a small political earthquake: at a press conference on Thursday, a journalist from the “taz” of the Interior Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lorenz Caffier, wanted to know if he had bought a gun as a private person from a former member of the far-right group “Nordkreuz”. or have completed shooting training with him.
Caffier evades him and briefly emphasizes: That falls in his “private area”, you can ask him in private. The journalist could write you a letter. “But, you know, the private area will remain private, also in the future.”
But soon after it became clear that he would not be able to maintain this attitude. Politicians from various parties demanded clarification from the 65-year-old man.
“When it comes to connections to an alleged right-wing terrorist group and even arms procurement, the interior minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania cannot simply declare that this is a private matter,” said the group’s national political spokesperson. Green MP, Irene Mihalic, on the “Germany publishing network”. . The minister had to reveal everything down to the smallest detail to contribute to the clarification.
“I was innocent when buying”
On Friday, Caffier finally admitted to “Spiegel” that it was true: In early 2018, he bought a pistol from the operator of a shooting range in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Since 2009, special units from Thuringia, Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia have been training at their training grounds near Güstrow. No one suspected that Frank T., the shooting range operator, had contacts with right-wing extremists.
At the time of the weapon’s purchase, the man was still considered a reliable sparring partner for the police. “At the beginning of 2018, neither my authorities nor I had any suspicions about the company. So I was off guard when I bought it,” Caffier told “Spiegel.” Frank T. is an officially licensed arms dealer.
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However, the fact that the man has connections to the “Nordkreuz” network puts Caffier in an extremely delicate position. The Prepper network, which became famous in 2017, was preparing for “X Day,” the expected collapse of the state as a result of disasters or a wave of refugees.
Members also considered the use of firearms. They set up ammunition warehouses, built bunkers. In chats, they exchanged messages with far-right content. “Nordkreuz” also includes two terrorism suspects, who the federal prosecutor is investigating because they are said to have planned attacks on the left for “X day.”
Caffier is a hunter in his spare time
The Schwerin Regional Court has sentenced a former SEK official of the group named Marco G. to a suspended sentence. During the searches, an Uzi machine gun with a silencer and 1,500 rounds of ammunition were found. He had legal possession of other weapons and ammunition, the judge said when delivering the verdict.
Marco G. is the founder of “Nordkreuz”. When he was part of the special operations command of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Criminal Police Office, he worked as a trainer at the shooting range of Frank T., the man from whom Caffier bought his gun.
The Home Secretary says that when he learned of the connection, he immediately stopped cooperation between the State Criminal Police Office and Frank T.’s company “Baltic Shooters.” “With the knowledge of 2019, of course, I would not have acquired a weapon there,” he says. The fact that he is believed to be close to “Nordkreuz” is complete nonsense and defamatory.
In his spare time he is a hunter, since pistols are part of normal equipment. However, Caffier admitted that he should have made the gun purchase public earlier. Apparently he had blocked a request from the “taz” about the process for months.
For the opposition, however, the matter of Caffier’s statement should not end. He accuses the Minister of the Interior of not having made sufficient efforts to clear the “Nordkreuz” network.
“The question is whether the completely inadequate clarification from the right-wing # Nordkreuz network is related to the fact that the interior minister bought a gun from a member of this network,” left-wing domestic politician Martina Renner tweeted. Caffier, for his part, says he has a leading role in the fight against right-wing extremism.
