Neo-Nazis Are Using Cookie Monster to Recruit German Children

Police in the state of Brandenburg, Germany have confirmed a dangerous (albeit slightly ridiculous) trend after two men were arrested outside of a school in Senftenber for handing out neo-Nazi propaganda with one offender dressed in a Cookie Monster costume.

Law enforcement was called after a teacher spotted students carrying pamphlets that read “To Be German Is Cool.” Once the men were in custody, their homes were searched by police who found other Cookie Monster/Nazi propaganda, including — according to The Daily Mail — an image of Cookie Monster photoshopped next to Hitler with the caption “Who ate my cookie?” (My guess is that they’re blaming Jewish people or North African immigrants, but the reality, Hitler, is probably that you ate it late last night in the middle of one a shame spiral.)

They are now trying to link the episode to twenty similar Cookie Monster/neo-Nazi incidents that have occurred in Brandenburg in the past year.

From NBC News:

Since the end of September, German police have been searching for the makers of short comic-like Internet videos showing the Cookie Monster and were investigating at least one case in which unknown suspects had plastered posters on school walls that read: “In 2030, the last Germans.”

In an official statement, Brandenburg police spokeswoman Ines Filohn said, “These extremists are trying to trivialize their dangerous ideology by using simple language, by creating ironic cartoons and by increasingly using social media to reach adolescents,” Filohn said, “The hardcore extremist scene is small, but very well connected. And, they’re cleverly using this type of provocation to gain broader attention, especially in the media.”

Using a beloved children’s icon to espouse hateful ideas is a pretty surefire way to accomplish that mission, but come on, neo-Nazis — the only thing that Cookie Monster is xenophobic about is food that’s not dessert.