Man ARRESTED After Darknet “KILL LIST” Comes to Light

When a German court jails a man for running a darknet “death list” of politicians, it raises hard questions about real security threats, government power, and how far speech laws can go in the name of fighting extremism.

Story Snapshot

A German-Polish man, “Martin S.,” was sentenced to three years in prison for running a darknet site that posted “death sentences” and kill lists of politicians.
Prosecutors said the site, “Assassination Politics,” shared personal data, bomb-making instructions, and asked for cryptocurrency bounties on targets including Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz.
The case shows both the real danger of online extremist plots and the risk of governments using secrecy and fear to expand control over speech and the internet.
Germans across the political spectrum already distrust their leaders, and this mix of real threats, opaque trials, and political spin will only deepen that anger.

What the German court says Martin S. did

A court in the German city of Duesseldorf sentenced a 50‑year‑old dual German‑Polish citizen, identified only as “Martin S.,” to three years in prison for running a darknet platform called “Assassination Politics.” During the trial, Martin S. admitted he operated the covert site, which hosted what the court described as “death sentences” and calls to assassinate political figures, including former chancellors Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz.^[5] Prosecutors argued that his actions crossed the line from radical speech to direct incitement.

Federal prosecutors said Martin S. had been active on the darknet since at least June 2025, where he allegedly posted lists of names and sensitive personal information on politicians, judges, and prosecutors.^[4] They claimed he framed these posts as “criminal files” on supposed traitors and paired them with self‑written “death sentences” that called for their killing.^[5] Officials said the platform was clearly aimed at encouraging attacks on public figures, not just angry talk.^[4]

How the darknet “death list” worked

Investigators said Martin S.’s platform mixed ideology, targets, and how‑to guidance in one place. Reports describe a forum that shared bomb‑making instructions and details on how to build explosive devices, alongside political rants and threats.^[1] Prosecutors also said he urged users to donate cryptocurrency, promising that these funds would serve as rewards or bounties for anyone who killed listed targets.^[3] That is why they charged him with financing terrorism and giving instructions for serious violent acts, not only for hate speech.^[3]

Media outlets quoting prosecutors and court sources say the kill lists named more than twenty potential victims, including high‑level figures like Merkel and Scholz, plus judges, prosecutors, and other officials.^[2] Coverage also links Martin S. to the far‑right Reichsbürger movement, which rejects the modern German state as illegitimate.^[8] The site reportedly blended right‑wing extremist content and conspiracy theories, echoing online subcultures that see leaders as “traitors” who deserve punishment.^[4] This mix of ideology and specific personal data made authorities treat the platform as a genuine threat, not just dark fantasy.

Why this case hits a nerve on free speech and trust in government

German law gives the state wide power to act against extremism, especially after the assassination of pro‑migrant politician Walter Lübcke by a neo‑Nazi in 2019, a murder that shocked the country and pushed security services to focus harder on far‑right violence.^[3] Against that backdrop, a darknet site naming real politicians, sharing addresses, and calling for attacks understandably alarms investigators. Most citizens, left and right, do want genuine plots stopped before someone gets killed, and this case fits that fear.

Yet the public still sees only a narrow slice of the evidence. German privacy rules mean Martin S. is anonymized and many court documents remain sealed, so citizens must largely trust prosecutors’ and judges’ summaries.^[4] There is no publicly available defense‑side forensic report on the site content, the cryptocurrency wallets, or whether any user ever tried to act on these “death sentences.” That secrecy feeds a wider feeling, familiar to many Americans too, that powerful insiders decide what is “extremist,” what is “terrorism,” and what the public is allowed to know.

What this means for ordinary citizens watching from abroad

For readers in the United States, this case is a warning from another Western democracy: governments everywhere are struggling with where to draw the line between dangerous online organizing and even ugly political speech. On one hand, there really are dark‑web kill lists, and researchers have documented paid‑for hit orders that led to arrests and convictions.^[16] On the other hand, once states have broad “terrorism” tools and opaque digital cases, it becomes easier for elites and security agencies to stretch those tools in the name of safety.

People on the right see how “extremism” labels get slapped on anyone who challenges the globalist policy line. People on the left see security laws used while the wealth gap grows and corruption goes unpunished. Both sides sense that the political class closes ranks when it feels threatened, whether by real violence or by rising public anger. The German darknet “death list” case shows a genuine danger, but it also shows how fear can justify more secrecy and more control, while everyday citizens still feel unprotected and unheard.