Police and prosecutors in Germany's
eastern state of Saxony said on Wednesday that they were investigating a credible right-wing death threat against state premier Michael Kretschmer.
The plot to assassinate Kretschmer, first reported by public broadcaster ZDF, is directly related to his stance on the pandemic.
Journalists infiltrated a group on the Telegram messaging app calling itself the "Dresden Offline Network." Several of the group's 103 members, besides espousing COVID-19 conspiracy theories and railing against vaccines, were suggesting armed violence against Kretschmer and his government, state police said.
"Individual members made statements about the possession of piercing weapons and crossbows," they told reporters. The leader of the group, they added, also used the chat to coach members in procuring weapons.
The threats were considered credible enough to open an investigation into possible criminal charges, which is being led by a branch of Saxony's anti-terror unit that specializes in right-wing extremism.