Weird but true: Anti-vaccine extremists planned to kill a German minister to stop COVID jabs!

While many Indians still grumble about not getting COVID vaccination, a group of people in Germany’s Saxony region have decided to walk in the opposite direction. Far-right supporters feel that corona is a trivial flu, the vaccine is either a hoax or a conspiracy, and they ought to do something to stop getting injected. That might include stopping the government by getting rid of important officials.  

Who was the minister under threat?  
German Premier Michael Kretschmer got a series of death threats in the eastern German state of Saxony. This state has the lowest vaccination rate in the country. For that matter, Mr. Kretschmer was of the same opinion. In 2020, he had even made speeches warning his people not to get hysterical about COVID. But once his state recorded one of the highest number of cases and deaths, the minister swung to the other end and started the vaccination drive. The far-right wing supporters were not convinced. The got together crossbows and sharp weapons, planning to kill Kretschmer for trying to inject them. They got caught and are being rounded up by police now.  

How were the anti-vaccine plotters caught?  
The plot against Mr Kretschmer was exposed when journalists broke into a group of some 100 people communicating via the Telegram messaging app. The group called Dresden Online Networking had also been discussing offline, meeting up in parks. They were arming themselves getting ready to kill the state Premier and other representatives. And this grand rebellion was to avoid being injected. They had been threatening Kretschner and sending threat letters to other officials with pieces of meat attached to make it gruesome.  

What does Germany’s government feel about anti-vaccine groups?  
Germany's new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is dead against the right-wing extremists who feel that the vaccine is an encroachment on their personal freedom. In fact, Scholz belittled them as a tiny minority in his opening speech as Chancellor. Germany's new government has drafted a law that requires all health workers and soldiers to get vaccinated by next spring, and vaccination is to become mandatory for all adults in 2022. He has even threatened to block Telegram app on Android and iOS if the groups continue using it for propagating hate.