German man arrested for running assassination platform targeting Merkel and Scholz

Special police arrested a man in Dortmund on Monday evening over running a darknet hitman platform targeting high-profile politicians and offering cryptocurrency as bounty, German prosecutors said.

The suspect, Martin S, allegedly operated the anonymous "Assassination Politics" board since at least June, and kept a list of more than 20 targets including former Chancellors Olaf Scholz and Angela Merkel, according to prosecutors.

Federal authorities charged him with terror financing, instructing serious acts of violence against the state, and disseminating personal data in a way that endangers the state.

The suspect holds German and Polish citizenship and has been on authorities' radar since 2020 for his involvement in coronavirus protests, prosecutors said.

Martin S, 49, allegedly solicited cryptocurrency donations to fund assassins and published instructions on making explosives, according to the charge sheet.

The man is also suspected of having ties to the far-right Reichsbürger movement, German state broadcaster ARD reported, citing security sources.

The platform's name references a 1990s essay by US anti-government activist Jim Bell describing an anonymous marketplace for funding political assassinations.

Germany's domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, provided information leading to the arrest, investigators said.

GSG 9, Germany's elite counter-terrorism unit, carried out the operation.

The suspect will appear before an investigating judge on Wednesday.