The increasing radicalization is particularly evident in parts of the Querdenker movement. Almost ten percent of participants are right-wing extremists. The North Rhine-Westphalian Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been keeping an eye on the protest movement since March 2020 and has been observing parts of the scene since May of this year. The security authority published its findings in a 179-page special report on conspiracy myths and coronavirus deniers. "We are the first federal state in Germany with a coronavirus situation report," reported Reul. The report clearly describes how the coronavirus denialist scene was able to develop and why conspiracy myths and radical slogans are catching on. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, discontent has developed in parts of the population over the last 20 years, for which coronavirus is an outlet.
In 2020, there were a total of 6,543 politically motivated crimes in NRW, an increase of 8.5 percent (2019: 6,032). The increase is solely attributable to the "not attributable" category. This includes crimes that are neither right-wing, left-wing, religious or foreign-motivated. In absolute figures, this amounted to 1,552 crimes in 2020 (2019: 625), an increase of 148%. According to the security authorities, two circumstances in particular led to this enormous increase: the local elections in September and the coronavirus pandemic. Reul: "Hostility and hate mail against politicians comes from the lateral thinker scene, among others. And probably also from people in our midst or who used to be in our midst."
Right-wing extremism remains the greatest threat to our democracy: the potential number of right-wing extremists remains almost unchanged at 3,940 (2019: 4,075). There are also 2,000 violent right-wing extremists in North Rhine-Westphalia. Attacks such as those in Hanau and Halle and the case of the so-called Gruppe S. have shown how right-wing extremist ideology can motivate individuals or even entire groups to carry out right-wing terrorist attacks.
The center is not only attacked by right-wing extremists and enemies of democracy, but also by radical left-wing extremists. "Anyone who attacks police officers, who attacks company employees, as in Hambach Forest, who causes extensive damage to property through arson attacks and endangers human lives or even just damages shop windows, as in Cologne, is not doing anything to protect the climate or tenants, they are simply violent," said Reul.
The security authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia are registering more violent left-wing extremists. Their number rose from 975 supporters to 1,020 last year. Although the number of crimes stagnated at 1,430, an increase of 0.4% in 2020 (2019: 1,424), Reul emphasized: "In the fight against the right, for animal welfare or against climate change, violence is increasingly the only seemingly effective instrument for left-wing extremists to assert their interests."
The threat of jihadist terrorism remains high, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. "We continue to be threatened by Islamist ideas," said Reul, recalling the knife attack by a radical Islamist in Dresden against a homosexual couple from North Rhine-Westphalia: "A homophobic attack by a radical Islamist is also an attack on our liberal values." Legalistic Islamism is also a danger for the center: organizations such as Ansaar International, which was banned in May, not only serve the interests of extremists, but also have influence far into the middle-class Muslim spectrum. This is another reason why the North Rhine-Westphalian Office for the Protection of the Constitution is intensifying its efforts in the fight against Islamism.
In the area of counter-espionage and cyber defence, more attacks by foreign powers on the center of society have also been identified: "Propaganda and fake news, cyber attacks and intimidation of individuals and organizations have increased enormously. From 2018 to 2020, both the number of cyberattacks and the number of victims increased fivefold. And this is likely to increase even more, especially now that the federal election campaign is underway," emphasized Reul.
