The Bavarian investigation follows an investigation launched last year by prosecutors in Neuruppin, on the outskirts of Berlin, into actions against an oil refinery in eastern Germany. That investigation is looking into suspicions that the Last Generation activists formed a criminal organization, a label that some conservative-leaning regional officials are also tossing around.
Munich prosecutors said the people under investigation are accused of organizing and promoting a campaign to «fund more crime» for the group and raise at least 1.4 million euros ($1.5 million). Two of them are also suspected of trying to sabotage an oil pipeline connecting the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt with the Italian port of Trieste in April 2022.
The searches on Wednesday, accompanied by seizure orders for two bank accounts and other assets, were aimed at obtaining evidence about Last Generation’s membership structure and its funding. There were no arrests.
Last Generation has acknowledged that its protests are provocative, but argues that by causing friction it can encourage debate within society about climate change.
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, the group wrote: “Nationwide raid. #completely crazy.»
“Records of Lobbying Structures and Government Fossil Money Seizures: When?” she said.
Another climate activist group, Extinction Rebellion, expressed solidarity with the Last Generation. He maintained in a tweet that the main objective of carrying out raids under the argument that it was a criminal organization was to «distract attention from the real criminals.»