German health minister says would-be kidnappers aimed to destabilise state

German health minister Karl Lauterbach said that a plot to kidnap him showed that radicalization among people protesting against coronavirus restrictions now went well beyond the issue of COVID-19.

"This shows that COVID protests have not just radicalized but that this is about more than just COVID," he told a news conference after prosecutors said they had foiled the kidnapping plot.

"There are forces that intended to destabilize the state and democracy. They are using the COVID protests. This is a small minority in our society but they are highly dangerous," Lauterbach said.