APPREHENDED

  • Full name: Franco Albrecht
  • Pseudonym: N/a
  • Alternatives: N/a
  • Location: Germany, fmr France
  • Affiliation: N/a

Franco Albrecht (°1989) is a former German soldier and right-wing extremist from Offenbach.1 The father of three excelled during officer training and was sent to the Saint-Cyr military academy in France where he surprised staff with his ultranationalist views.2 In a rejected thesis, Albrecht stated that the world is “controlled by Jews” and denounced America for “imposing its filthy democratic system” on its allies.3 He nevertheless continued to serve in the German army.

By late 2015, Albrecht began planning to carry out false flag operations to enflame public opinion against the many immigrants who had entered Germany in the previous year. He also wanted to punish politicians who were assumed to be taking part in a “Zionist plot” to spark a “race war against the Germans”.4 Albrecht posed as a Syrian refugee and was granted asylum by the German authorities in 2016.5 His Syrian persona even received financial benefits from the government.6 Albrecht purportedly planned to assassinate political figures and activists, including former president Joachim Gauck and ex-foreign minister Heiko Maas.7 He had also begun monitoring a prominent Jewish anti-racism activist.8

On Feb. 03, 2017, Albrecht was briefly taken into custody by Austrian police while recovering a pistol from a toilet at the airport of Vienna.9 Owing to his military status, he was quickly released. German authorities began investigating him and discovered his plans through intercepted conversations with some of his associates.10 On Apr. 26, 2017, police arrested Albrecht while he was participating in a military training program in Hammelburg.11 Police forces also searched sixteen premises across Austria, France and Germany that were linked to him and his acquaintances. Two associates were arrested on May 09.12 Albrecht was released in the runup to his trial but got apprehended again in February 2022 after he had collected Nazi memorabilia from an acquaintance in Strasbourg.13 A court in Hesse handed him a prison sentence of five and a half years for his activities on Jul. 15, 2022.14

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