New Year's Eve rioters are said to have planned the kidnapping of an official

After the New Year's Eve riots, there are still heated debates about integration and problem areas. This is also the case in Bonn. Around 40 young men are said to have attacked police officers and firefighters in the Medinghoven district on New Year's Eve - with firecrackers, pyrotechnics and Molotov cocktails.

The tranquil residential area in the Bonn Republic is now considered a problem district, like Berlin-Neukölln. Almost every fifth person here is unemployed. Around 55 percent live on social assistance, almost 38 percent are under 25 years old.

The rioters who attacked the rescue services on New Year's Eve with firecrackers and stones are said to have been recruited from precisely this scene. The public prosecutor's office in Bonn is currently investigating eight men between the ages of 16 and 19 for serious breaches of the peace, assaulting police officers, attempted bodily harm, arson and property damage.

The young people may have received inspiration for the attacks from the French Netflix film "Athena". At least that's what chat logs from a group, from which the "Spiegel" quotes, suggest, at least. The film is about precarious social structures in an environment on the outskirts of a city. Young people eventually attack a police station, steal weapons, fire firecrackers at emergency services and take a policeman hostage.

Accordingly, two days before New Year's Eve, a boy who calls himself "Le Monde vous Appartient" ("The world is yours") founded a chat group called "Silvester MV vs. Nazis". In fact, videos on Instagram and TikTok showing the riots on New Year's Eve can be found on the Internet under the hashtag "MV". "MV" stands for "Medinghover district". The opposing “Nazis” presumably meant police officers.

"Le Monde vous Appartient" invites another eight young men to the group. These also come from Medinghoven or neighboring districts such as Duisdorf. The project seems clear: "New Year's Eve will burn MV," he writes. He quickly makes it clear: If someone wants to be "only half there", they should kindly leave the group.

The group did not only exchange information about the construction of Molotov cocktails. A member is said to have asked "how many police cars" should be set on fire. Another also came up with the idea of ​​kidnapping a police officer: “Guys. Should we kidnap a cop?” Someone replies: “By Allah, I'm serious. Like Athena” – the film.

The group had already targeted a certain police officer: the "son of a bitch". The young people knew where he always parked his car. The Bonn police suspect that this is an officer who is often on duty in Medinghoven. The further project was no longer planned in the chat. The last conversation ended a day before New Year's Eve.

Finally, on New Year's Eve, the riots announced in the chat actually happened. The Bonn police later reported that unknown persons had shot at the officers with pyrotechnics. Some of the suspects wore masks and scarves. Previously, garbage cans and car tires had been set on fire. When the fire brigade tried to put out the fire, they were attacked with stones and firecrackers. Just like the police officers who wanted to protect the firefighters. Medinghoven was actually on fire.

When the riots escalated, the police and fire brigade initially withdrew. After a platoon of the 13th Hundreds of riot police was alerted, the suspects were surrounded. A member of the chat group was caught at the scene; all others were able to escape at first.

Just a few days after the attacks on the emergency services, the suspects' apartments in Medinghoven and Duisdorf were searched. The cell phones were seized. In addition to firecrackers, a stun gun and a gas cartridge were found. However, the key clue to the group came from a 19-year-old Romanian who had been arrested on New Year's morning. According to "Focus", the investigators found information about the said chat group on his cell phone.

According to the Bonn police, the suspects should all have a migration background. According to the Bonn police, there were “five German nationals with a migration background and each with another citizenship in the chat group. Three others are foreigners. All eight were born in Bonn.” Which supports the statement by Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser that the state has a “problem with certain young men with a migration background” who “despise” them.

All of the eight suspects are already known to the police. One of them was on record for numerous insults and a drug offense. Others have criminal records of theft, abuse of 911 calls and threats. In an interview with the Bonn "Generalanzeiger", police spokesman Robert Scholten said that the Medinghoven investigation group was still active and was in close contact with the forensic institute of the LKA.

The criminal defense lawyer Marc Piel from Bonn represents a suspect. He describes the plans in the chat as "absurd madness by young people". Young men who wanted to tease and boast about each other. For him, this WhatsApp group "does not represent any evidence of concrete criminally relevant acts."