By Gizem Taskin Nicollet
PARIS (AA) – The trial of four far-right individuals accused of planning terrorist attacks in 2017 and 2018, particularly targeting mosques, began on Monday in Paris.
Prosecutors revealed that the suspects, aged 22 to 28, had joined a private online neo-Nazi chat group called "Operation WaffenKraft."
The targets of the planned terror plots included neighborhoods with significant foreign communities, the Omar Mosque in Paris, a mosque in Creil, the European Parliament, and a meeting involving Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the La France Insoumise party.
Alexandre Gilet, a former volunteer assistant gendarme in Isere, emerged as the alleged leader of the group.
Gilet drafted a "manifesto," a term used by ultra-right mass murderer Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 people in front of two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15, 2019.
He was arrested after authorities figured out that he had ordered equipment for making explosives.
By searching the home of Gilet, the investigators found many long weapons and handguns, including two Kalashnikovs with 21 magazines and numerous pieces of ammunition, Franceinfo reported.
Further analysis of his digital devices revealed numerous photos and videos showcasing forest training sessions. Investigators also found the photographs capturing the four suspects posing with arms slung over their shoulders while making the Hitler salute.
One co-defendant described Gilet as the most radical and determined member, saying: “He wanted to make a carnage worse than the Bataclan.”
Dozens of people were killed in Bataclan concert hall during a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015 which left 130 people dead.
The trial of the men is scheduled to continue until June 30.