<p>Far-right militants in Europe and the US are increasingly forming global links and using the coronavirus pandemic to attract anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists to their cause, a study commissioned by the German foreign ministry said Friday.</p>.<p>The study carried out in Germany, France, Britain, the US, Sweden and Finland by the Counter Extremism Project documents the emergence of a new far-right movement since 2014 that is "leaderless, transnational, apocalyptic and oriented towards violence".</p>.<p>The extremists believe in the nationalist theory of "great replacement" being orchestrated to supplant Europe's white population with outsiders.</p>.<p>And they are increasingly networking across national borders with other like-minded militants, including with Russian and East European extremists.</p>.<p>Music festivals and mixed martial arts fights are rallying points, where extremists also seek to draw new members, the study noted.</p>.<p>Over the last year, the pandemic has also become an opportunity seized on by the extremists to "expand their mobilisation efforts around anti-government conspiracy myths criticising the current restrictions," it said.</p>.<p>"Right-wing extremism is the biggest threat to our security -- across Europe," said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Twitter.</p>.<p>Voicing alarm that the scene is "increasingly acting and networking internationally", Maas added that Germany is seeking to counter the menace through coordinated action with other EU members.</p>.<p>A rally of nearly 10,000 opponents of government-imposed social restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Berlin this week saw extremists mingling among a motley crew of protesters.</p>.<p>About a dozen demonstrators were shouting "Sieg Heil" while performing the stiff-armed Hitler salute, in the presence of police, an AFP reporter saw.</p>.<p>Anti-Semitic slogans have been a fixture of some of the demonstrations against coronavirus policies in Germany this year.</p>
<p>Far-right militants in Europe and the US are increasingly forming global links and using the coronavirus pandemic to attract anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists to their cause, a study commissioned by the German foreign ministry said Friday.</p>.<p>The study carried out in Germany, France, Britain, the US, Sweden and Finland by the Counter Extremism Project documents the emergence of a new far-right movement since 2014 that is "leaderless, transnational, apocalyptic and oriented towards violence".</p>.<p>The extremists believe in the nationalist theory of "great replacement" being orchestrated to supplant Europe's white population with outsiders.</p>.<p>And they are increasingly networking across national borders with other like-minded militants, including with Russian and East European extremists.</p>.<p>Music festivals and mixed martial arts fights are rallying points, where extremists also seek to draw new members, the study noted.</p>.<p>Over the last year, the pandemic has also become an opportunity seized on by the extremists to "expand their mobilisation efforts around anti-government conspiracy myths criticising the current restrictions," it said.</p>.<p>"Right-wing extremism is the biggest threat to our security -- across Europe," said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Twitter.</p>.<p>Voicing alarm that the scene is "increasingly acting and networking internationally", Maas added that Germany is seeking to counter the menace through coordinated action with other EU members.</p>.<p>A rally of nearly 10,000 opponents of government-imposed social restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Berlin this week saw extremists mingling among a motley crew of protesters.</p>.<p>About a dozen demonstrators were shouting "Sieg Heil" while performing the stiff-armed Hitler salute, in the presence of police, an AFP reporter saw.</p>.<p>Anti-Semitic slogans have been a fixture of some of the demonstrations against coronavirus policies in Germany this year.</p>