Hunt Attila Hildmann – as this photo revealed the conspiracy theorist 21 people who have won in life

On February 19, 2021, an arrest warrant was issued against Attila Hildmann in Germany on charges of incitement to hatred, public incitement to commit crimes and opposition to law enforcement officers. When the public prosecutor found out three days later, the far-right conspiracy theorist was already in hiding. His whereabouts have been missing ever since. Now a team from the news magazine Stern has tracked him down in the Turkish city of Kartepe, about an hour and a half southeast of Istanbul.

The hunt for Attila Hildmann suddenly gained momentum at the end of April, Stern reporter Tina Kaiser tells about the investigation. At the time, an old close associate and confidant of Hildmann’s turned on him—and turned out to be a whistleblower.

In this way information was obtained that helped in the search for clues. In addition, the conspiracy theorist’s Telegram channel was evaluated for months. Ultimately, the moment Stern reporter Kaiser entered Hildmann’s private chat would be decisive. Only “real Nazis” would be included in the chat, as Kaiser reports. “He took it from me that I’m one.” The reporter was in – and got exclusive insights into Hildmann’s life: Hildmann in his garden. Hildmann’s car. Hildmann at the vet.

Taken by themselves, these were little more than meaningless puzzle pieces. Putting it all together would have narrowed the path to Hildmann. And then there was the all-important final piece of the puzzle: the eye-catching tile floor at Hildmann’s vet.

“We searched the internet for a vet in Turkey who had the same tiles with the same cracks until we found him,” says Kaiser.

The team of reporters was supported by the Hildbusters, a private group that also hunted Hildmann as hobby detectives. “We were lucky enough to be a reporter and found the vet,” Kaiser says at the crucial moment.

Finally, it should come to Turkey to meet Hildbrand. It was clear to reporters: “We didn’t want to just ring the bell”. The danger that he would simply close the door again and be warned was too great for them. “We have also heard that he is armed.” Therefore, they wanted to surprise him in a random situation. “We knew he was walking the dog just after 10 a.m..” That’s how it was in the end. The team surprised Hildmann and recorded the conversation with him. “We also filmed him because we knew he would later develop his own truth about what happened at the meeting,” says Kaiser.

However, the knowledge gain in the conversation was “relatively small”. Above all, Hildmann reiterated his conspiracy ideologies (“Jews are to blame for everything, Corona is an invention of the Jews and the vaccination should kill us all”). He did not want to prove whether he really has the Turkish passport that he is claiming.

The conspiracy theorist also couldn’t really explain why he was hiding in Turkey when he could live freely there with a passport. However, according to the reporter, Hildmann has not left his hideout yet. He would still be in the house in Karpete. (meg)