Anti-government 'Reichsbürger' attacks German police and calls them Nazis after extremist shoots officer dead

An anti-government “Reichsbürger” has attacked police in Germany just a day after an officer was shot dead by another extremist from the group.

The man punched officers and called them “Nazis” after refusing to leave council offices in the town of Salzwedel on Thursday.

Police in Saxony-Anhalt said the suspect was a member of the Reichsbürger movement, which claims the current German state is illegitimate and refuses its authority.

Civil servants called the police when he and his wife refused to leave their office but when officers arrived, the pair launched a verbal and physical attack.

“When officers announced they would be able to [remove the couple from the building], the man suddenly launched an attack,” a police statement said.

“He struck out at officers and insulted them as Nazis. When they tried to restrain him, his wife attacked one of the officers.”

A police officer was taken to hospital for treatment for his injuries, alongside the 43-year-old suspect, who was subdued and arrested.

Ministers have called on a crackdown on the Reichsbürger movement after a follower opened fire on police attempting to confiscate his arsenal of hunting weapons in Bavaria on Wednesday.

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Four officers were seriously injured in the raid in Georgensgmünd, with one later dying of gunshot wounds in hospital.

The attack sparked calls from the Bavarian interior minister to increase surveillance of the Reichsbürgerbewegung (Reich Citziens’ Movement), which has already been under “intensive observation” by state intelligence services because of some members’ “far-right aims”.

“To be part of the Reichsbürger movement is to be a right-wing extremist,” Joachim Herrmann added.

Reichsbürgers adhere to their own self-declared government, known as the KRR, which issues its own version of official documents such as driving licences, while followers frequently spurn federal taxes or fines.

They are mainly known for aggravating German authorities by pursuing obscure legal claims rather than violence, but a member was wounded during a gun battle as he was evicted from his home in August.

A recent report by Berlin's state intelligence service describes the Reichsbürgers as “an extremely diverse range of small groups and individuals who believe in an ideological mixture of conspiracy theories, anti-Semitic and anti-democratic views, and who have been behaving increasingly aggressively for some time“.

The Georgensgmünd shooter, who is unemployed and previously operated a martial arts school, had reportedly written “scurrilous letters” on the movement after joining in the summer. He remains in police custody.

The German interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, called for new measures to be taken to protect police officers after condemning the police officer’s “horrific” death.

“Police officers are giving everything for the safety of our country,” he added. “The increasing number of attacks by extremists is unbearable and unacceptable.”

Mr de Maiziere said the status of the Reichsbürger movement would be re-evaluated by the government as it examines the possibility of further surveillance and security measures.

Germany remains on a state of high alert following a series of terror attacks by Isis supporters, including a suicide bombing in Ansbach and axe attack on a train.

But there is also growing concern over far-right movements, which have been gathering increasing support during tensions over the refugee crisis and sexual assaults in Cologne.

Centres for asylum seekers have been the target of arson attacks and racist graffiti, while police uncovered a neo-Nazi plot to attack refugee accommodation with explosives last year.