Police in the German city of Bremen state that unknown suspects set fire to a vehicle owned by a former populist lawmaker who was almost murdered in 2019. In the early morning of Thursday, August 8, a Volkswagen was set on fire in a public parking lot in the city. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze before it could set fire to a nearby apartment building.
The vehicle is said to belong to Frank Magnitz, a former member of the German parliament for the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Police say they are investigating a possible political motive for the attack.
In 2019, Magnitz was savagely beaten, nearly to death, while walking down a street in Bremen after leaving a local theatre. Antifa militants took credit for the attack on a platform associated with far-left extremism. However, no arrests were ever made, nor were any suspects named in the case.
The attack matches similar assaults carried out by the notorious Antifa-aligned Hammerbande (Hammer Gang) group. The Hammer Gang terrorizes political opponents by beating them bloody with claw hammers.
Members of the Hammerbande traveled to Budapest, Hungary, last year, where they attacked both populists and random bystanders in a rampage across the city.
An Italian national connected to the gang was arrested by Hungarian police but was later elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), giving her immunity from prosecution.
