Franco A. before Darmstadt Regional Court: Resistance against police control at S-Bahn station
The right-wing extremist Franco A., convicted of terrorism planning, is back in court – this time for resisting officers during a check in Offenbach.
New proceedings against convicted right-wing terrorist in Darmstadt
As hessenschau.de reports, the former Bundeswehr officer Franco A. has been before the Darmstadt Regional Court since Tuesday of this week. The subject of the new proceedings is resistance against law enforcement officers – an incident that occurred before his imprisonment began.
Franco A. was sentenced in July 2022 by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court to five and a half years in prison – for preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the state, unlicensed possession of weapons, and fraud. At that time, the court established that he harboured a right-wing extremist, völkisch-nationalist and racist ideology and had been firmly determined to attack high-ranking politicians and persons of public life.
The current trial concerns 11 February 2022. According to the prosecution, two police officers checked the then 37-year-old at Offenbach S-Bahn station Ledermuseum. When they wanted to open a plastic bag that he was carrying, he allegedly attempted to flee – without success. During the ensuing struggle on the ground with called-in officers, he allegedly kicked and attempted to pull a knife from a jacket pocket.
Franco A., who remains in prison, rejected the allegations. The bag had contained his personal diaries, which he had not wanted to hand over to the officers. "I certainly did not kick," he said in court. Nor had he reached for his knife – he had always carried this in his right trouser pocket, he emphasised several times.
The list of seized items read out by the court revealed, however, that no diaries had been secured. Instead, the bag contained pins featuring Prussian eagles, swastikas and Iron Crosses, as well as two small books. The defendant explained that these decorations came from a family estate – but he had not thought of them during the check. The defence requested an acquittal.
For the current regional court proceedings, three trial days are scheduled so far, until 30 June.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)