Minister on Power Outages: A Misguided Lone Perpetrator

Following the arrest of the suspect in a series of attacks on the power grid in three states, Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Jan Redmann announced far-reaching consequences. He also referred to the suspect as a “misguided lone actor.” “It takes more than one troublemaker to plunge Germany into chaos,” the CDU politician said. “But we must also be clear: A misguided lone actor is just one of many threat scenarios against which we must arm ourselves.”

Police arrested a 48-year-old suspect today in North Rhine-Westphalia. He is alleged to have attempted, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, and Saxony, to shoot wires across high-voltage power lines using homemade rockets and trigger short circuits—an act that succeeded at least twice. The attacks began in Brandenburg near the Jänschwalde power plant.

Brandenburg Plans Security Package

The Interior Minister reaffirmed plans for a security package for Brandenburg. “A new law is intended to grant private operators of relevant infrastructure the authority to actively defend against drones in the future,” said Redmann. “In addition, security agencies are to be equipped with the necessary powers and resources to respond appropriately to modern threats.”

According to the minister, the attacks had only a minor impact on citizens’ daily lives. “The lights stayed on, the trains kept running. The past few days have shown that our security framework is effective.”

Minister Praises Investigators’ Collaboration

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the Brandenburg police played a leading role in the investigations. “Together, we have proven: If the attack knows no national borders, then neither does the rule of law,” said Redmann. He spoke of a highly professional approach by all investigators involved.