In the trial against the terror suspect carpenter's apprentice Marvin E. from Spangenberg in northern Hesse, the Federal Prosecutor's Office has requested a five-year juvenile sentence for the now 21-year-old defendant. According to the prosecutors, the allegations have been "fully confirmed" in the trial at the Higher Regional Court. E., who was 19 years old at the time of the crime, has been on trial in Frankfurt for eight months: He is said to have tried to found an offshoot of the right-wing extremist Atomwaffen Division (AWD), which was supposed to commit attacks in Hesse. According to the indictment, the main target should be Jews, Muslims and representatives of the democratic rule of law. For this purpose, Marvin E. is said to have built explosive devices whose power is comparable to that of military explosives.

Anna-Sophia Lang

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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In their plea, the federal prosecutors spoke of E. wanting to assert himself and his "inhuman worldview". He glorified National Socialism, adhered to the "erroneous belief of a biologically superior white race" and took up the superstition of recognizing Jews by their noses. He had wanted to commit "hate crimes in their purest form" and sacrifice people to satisfy his desire for revenge. "Most recently, he indulged in killing fantasies."

Radicalized on Telegram in no time

According to the federal prosecutors, it was a coincidence that nothing happened: E. had not yet planned a concrete attack, but was determined to use his explosive devices to kill. He was arrested in September 2021 and has been in custody ever since.

According to the prosecutors, he had become radicalized within a very short time: It was not until July 2021 that he began to deal with the AWD on Telegram. He soon identified himself "with glorified violence" and decided to found his own offshoot. "Above all, he wanted to terrorize Jews and Muslims and expel them from the habitat of the 'white race'."

As a result, he wrote a manifesto entitled "Operation Ranzkacke", created profiles for AWD Hessen on various platforms, tried to recruit followers and planned a poster campaign. He ordered the components for his explosive devices online – including steel balls, which were supposed to cause particularly serious damage in the explosion. Marvin E. did not stop even when his recruitment efforts and the poster campaign failed.

Understanding for gunmen

The defendant corresponds to "the prototypical gunman," said the federal prosecutors, referring to the report of an expert. He is an emotionally cold, aggrieved, self-respecting loner who has no concept of remorse, has self-esteem problems and is capable of unforeseen aggression.

At school, he felt bullied at an early age because of a reading and spelling weakness – which, in combination with a loveless home, had increasingly caused hatred. This is how he developed an understanding of gunmen.

In his favor, the federal prosecutors evaluate, among other things, that he had largely admitted the allegations and participated in a deradicalization program. Because they see him as a delay in maturity and a "considerable need for re-education", juvenile criminal law is to be applied. The trial continues on Friday with the defense's pleadings and the last word.