Hans-Georg Maassen, who until five years ago was responsible for protecting Germany against violent and extremist threats to its democracy, is himself now being monitored by the security agency he ran, the bureaucrat-turned-politician said. Maassen was dismissed as head of Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) in 2018 after appearing to play down the threat of violence by right-wing extremists who at the time were rioting in an eastern German city. Since, the lawyer has become known for his increasingly radical commentary on the supposed threat immigration poses to Germany, becoming a hero to far-right activists including some in the circles surrounding Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, the aristocrat who led a foiled coup attempt in 2022.