Experts have told the Guardian the same anti-fascist groups the US state department recently named as foreign terrorist organizations and accused of conspiring to undermine foundations of western civilization barely qualify as groups, let alone terrorist organizations, and pose no active threat to Americans. The whole thing is a bit ridiculous, said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, which tracks extremist movements worldwide, because the groups designated by the administration barely exist and certainly aren't terrorists.
Members of the far-right terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU) murdered 10 people, carried out bombings and robbed banks in several German states between 2000 and 2007. In 2018, Beate Zschape, the sole surviving NSU member, was sentenced by the Higher Regional Court in Munich to life in prison, with the court determining a particularly severe degree of guilt. The trial was one of the biggest in Germany's postwar history.