Specialists of the Hungarian and German police have identified the assumed leader of the violent left-wing Antifa group responsible for a wave of brutal assaults in Budapest in February that shocked the country.
The 29-year-old Johann Guntermann, the spiritual father of the notorious Hammerbande (Hammer Gang), is also the fiancé of Lina Engel, the leader of the Antifa group who is currently incarcerated. He has been on the run for three years. Guntermann is suspected to have been one of the perpetrators of the brutal attack in February. The man was identified by a team of police specialists after analyzing CCTV footage of the Budapest attack.
According to Der Spiegel, the State Criminal Police (LKA) in Saxony have determined the far-left figure, nicknamed Gucci, to be one of the most violent antifascists in the country. He is one of a group of about 20 people who allegedly hunted right-wing extremists in Budapest in February. It is unclear how he entered the country given his status as a fugitive in Europe.
In Budapest, the eight victims, who were randomly selected for wearing military-style clothing, were beaten, leaving some severely injured. The suspects believed the victims were a part of a right-wing demonstration occurring in the city.
Following the Budapest manhunt, police raided known centers of far-left groups in Berlin, Saxony and Thuringia and seized several documents and electronic media. These are being analyzed jointly with the Hungarian police.
Guntermann is considered a prominent figure on the violent far left in Germany by police and comrades alike for his brutal actions. Authorities say he is characterized by professionalism as well as a penchant for violence.
According to the specialist portal Dokumentation Linksextremismus, Guntermann is considered to be the most wanted left-wing extremist in Germany and has been on the run from the police since 2019. He is not only wanted by the Frankfurt public prosecutor but also has several other arrest warrants out for him. Among other crimes, he is wanted for posing as a masked anti-fascist police officer in Eilengurg and then Erfurt in 2021 and torturing his victims, including a pregnant woman, in their own homes.