German suspect Julian J. wanted to burn down the Alternative for Germany (AfD), or at least one of their local offices. Instead, the 21-year-old retail clerk torched a plumber’s workshop, caused €300,000 in damage, and is now sitting in the dock at Munich District Court facing several years in prison.
The case, which opened Tuesday, lays bare the gap between J.’s revolutionary ambitions and his actual abilities. He still lived with his mother. He paid for his getaway gasoline with a bank card. Investigators also found evidence of the arson attack in his childhood bedroom.
J. told the court he had set out to strike a blow against “inhumane parties like the AfD” and “ever-increasing fascism.” His stated goal was to fight in “the working class” struggle against the “oppressive state” and ultimately “bring down the system.”
🇩🇪🚨 AfD supporters in Germany should be attacked and people should "vomit in their faces."
"Break down their doors and gates, slap them in the face. Vomit in their faces. I don’t give a sh*t," said public figure Peter Fischer to RTL.
Despite calling for violence against a… pic.twitter.com/ersYM5AcSO
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 28, 2024His primary target was the AfD district office in the Munich neighborhood of Ramersdorf, according to Bild newspaper.
The AfD office is located on the first floor of a residential building. On the ground floor sits a plumbing and construction supplies shop — a craftsman’s business with no connection to the AfD or any political party.
J. needed two attempts to carry out the attack. During the first, a smoke flare burned out without causing significant damage. Four days later, he returned at night with a gasoline canister, smashed the workshop window, poured gasoline on the floor, and ignited it.
Emergency services brought the fire under control before it reached the upper floor, and there was virtually no damage to the AfD office. Instead, the plumbing shop suffered fire damage totaling €300,000.
“It was not clear to me that there was a workshop there,” J. told the court.
Two days after the Ramersdorf attack, J. also targeted CSU headquarters in Munich, pouring gasoline on the exterior. In that case, only the facade of the building was damaged.
J. reportedly left a trail that investigators had little trouble following. A gas station security camera recorded him purchasing fuel shortly before the attack, and he used his own bank card for the purchase. When criminal investigators searched his home, they found arson materials and singed clothing in his childhood bedroom.
He has been in pre-trial detention since October.
J. admitted in court to the acts described in the indictment. His defense lawyers — Gerald Assner and Mathes Breuer — faced an awkward start to the proceedings when Assner resigned as public defender at the very outset, citing irreconcilable differences with his own client.
The court debated whether a suspended sentence might be possible despite J.’s multiple prior convictions, including for violent offenses. Judge Kathrin Lohmöller left the door open.
“It cannot be ruled out. It depends on personal impression,” she said.
J. himself showed little remorse for his actions. He told the court he hoped to continue working toward a “resistance movement” to bring down the “system.”
If convicted, J. faces not only juvenile detention but also a civil damages claim of €300,000, which under German law could leave him on the hook for payments over the course of 30 years.
The AfD has long been targeted by left-wing arsonists, with suspects targeting businesses, automobiles, and even homes. AfD politicians and political supporters are also targeted with violence more than any other party in Germany, according to official interior ministry documents.
