German Intelligence Used Antifa 'Research' to Build Case Against Populists
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) have been accused of relying on information from the far-left extremist Antifa movement to build their case for surveilling the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The BfV, Germany’s domestic intelligence service, used Antifa sources and information at least six times in its analysis of the youth wing of the AfD, the Junge Alternative (JA), Süddeutsche Zeitungreports.
The report, which links the JA to right-wing fraternity organisations, uses a source from the website “antifa-berlin.info” along with several other Antifa sources.
While many of the quotes in the report are sourced directly from videos or from statements made on social media, one, from AfD MP Gottfried Curio, was entirely sourced from an Antifa outlet in which Curio allegedly said: “A birth jihad is in progress, demand the restoration of citizenship right by descent.”
Another part of the report claims that two members of the far-right “Pro Germany Citizens’ Movement” which was disbanded in November of 2017 were active in the Berlin branch of the AfD, again citing Antifa as the source of the claim.
The research presented by the BfV has led to them considering using agents to infiltrate the JA as well as potentially monitor their communications.
German Government Puts Populist AfD Party Under Surveillance https://t.co/p4uRSNquOM
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 17, 2019
The report is not the first time the German establishment has been linked with Antifa. In the city of Halle, local left-wing politicians were accused of giving 150,000 euros of taxpayer money to Antifa-linked “Kubultuburebel e.V” who run a squatter building, with the money used to renovate the building’s electrical system.
“Intelligence-gathering” on the “far right” is often done by Antifa and groups related to far-left extremism. A Swedish military report named the Expo Foundation along with British “anti-hate” organisation HOPE not Hate, which have received cash from left-liberal billionaire George Soros, as intel sources.
Some have questioned whether or not Antifa are a reliable source of information on their poltical opponents following a series of attacks, including the bombing of an AfD office in Döbeln and a brutal attack on AfD MP Frank Magniotz in Bremen in recent weeks.
Following the attack on Magnitz an alleged confession was posted to the “Indymedia” web platform which has been long associated with the Antifa movement.