In June, an Austria-wide police operation against right-wing extremists found numerous Nazi objects, such as clothing with specific symbols and a considerable amount of data storage media were seized.
A total of 15 people between the ages of 16 and 57 were charged, most of them under the Prohibition Act, which criminalises National Socialist “reactivation”. Those charged were predominantly, but not exclusively, men.
The Ministry of the Interior announced that the operation against right-wing extremists was carried out as part of a “Joint Action Day” coordinated by the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence Service (DSN).
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The focus was on targeting extremist-motivated and violent individuals as well as people who spread right-wing extremist hate propaganda. Several buildings were raided at the same time as part of the operation. The evidence is currently being viewed and forensically evaluated.
According to authorities, right-wing extremist groups were generally becoming more active, and the risk of right-wing extremist-motivated acts was constantly on the rise.
Right wing groups are not united
The Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) expressly warns of increased right-wing extremist tendencies, with the number of reports of right-wing extremist crimes rising from 928 in 2022 to 1208 in the previous year.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the activities of far-right groups were massively restricted, and some long-established far-right events disappeared and have not been held since. However, new extremist networks also formed online during the lockdown and are now becoming increasingly active.
However, there is no unified right-wing extremist scene in Austria, according to a report in the Der Standard newspaper.
On the contrary, some groups are divided - for example, on which side to take in the Russian war against Ukraine. Some support Vladimir Putin, and others want to go to war as mercenaries for Ukraine, the report added.
How bad is the situation?
Extreme right-wing groups in Austria are often led by political beliefs that include ethnic nationalism, islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-semitism, racism, rejection of democratic and plural societies and more. They also usually have great affinity for firearms - which means they could pose a terror threat.
Since 2019, 41 deposits with large weapons and explosives have been found during raids against right-wing extremist suspects in Austria. Most of them were found in Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Salzburg - and in the vast majority of cases, the investigators also found "Nazi devotional objects".
Earlier in 2024, Austria's Interior Ministry warned of a “noticeable influx” in the country’s extreme right scene.
“The so-called ‘New Right’ currently represents the greatest challenge in the area of right-wing extremism,” Austria’s interior ministry said in a statement at the time, naming the Identitarian Movement, a nationalistic and anti-immigration movement, as part of this grouping.
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There is currently a noticeable influx into the scene, although exact numbers are difficult to determine, it added.
The Austrian government has already stated it expects a rapid expansion of right-wing extremist trends.
In particular, "the expansion of martial arts networks with a friendlier and less militant appearance is expected to attract the interest of young people across Europe", the government wrote in its Constitutional Protection Report 2023.
The authorities fear that this recruitment will lead to more violence, for example, against Jews, people from other ethnic backgrounds, Muslims and the LGBTIQ community.
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