BREAKING: Germany: Frankfurt police special forces unit to be disbanded over far-right chats!

Police from the central German city of Frankfurt am Main have decided to disband the city's Special Task Force (SEK) following the discovery of far-right extremist messages in group chats, a state official said on Thursday.

Interior Minister for the state of Hesse Peter Beuth said that "unacceptable misconduct" by certain members of the SEK made the dissolution of the unit "unavoidable."

The move followed an announcement by the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor's Office, as well as the Hessian State Criminal Police Office on Wednesday that they had ongoing investigations into 20 active and former SEK officers suspected of participating in right-wing extremist chat groups.

Seventeen Hesse officers were suspected of spreading hatred-inciting texts and symbols of former Nazi organizations — outlawed under post-war German law, said prosecutors — mainly in 2016 and 2017.

Aged between 29 and 54, all but one officer had been on active duty. Now, none were now allowed to perform duties, Frankfurt police chief Gerhard Bereswill explained on Wednesday. One had already been suspended.


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