Police in Frankfurt, Germany have made the decision to disband the city's Special Task Force (SEK) after discovering far-right extremist messages among the Force's group chats.
The Interior Minister for Hesse state, Peter Beuth, called for new leadership culture among the lower and middle levels of the police force. Beuth said the messages were an example of, "unacceptable misconduct", and that the disbandment of the SEK was "unavoidable."
"We are launching a fundamental reboot of the SEK today," he said.
"Of course our special forces will also be vital in the future, but the parameters will be different," the interior minister said.
via DW
Much like the United States, German police and military forces have struggled with far-right scandals over the past several years. Just last year, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was forced to dissolve the 2nd company of the Bundeswehr's Special Forces Command (KSK) after the same brand of far-right extremism infiltrated the unit.
Hesse state, Frankfurt's financial hub, seems to be quite the hotspot for right-wing activity, especially for German authorities. Threatening emails sent to several people, including a lawyer with a migrant background, were traced back to a Frankfurt police computer. The emails were signed with "NSU 2.0", referring to the National Socialist Underground, a neo-Nazi group that committed 10 murders between the year 2000 and 2007. Even left-wing politicians received these emails, including Janine Wissler, whose personal details were accessed from a police computers.
