Earlier this month, the group's founder, Lutz Bachmann, resigned after a photograph emerged of him sporting an Adolf Hitler-styled moustache and haircut. Media reports also surfaced of Bachmann referring to asylum seekers in welfare offices as "animals" and "scumbags."
Photo of Pegida leader styled as Adolf Hitler goes viral http://t.co/61h30iuRH2 pic.twitter.com/F7lawCAY4t
— The Guardian (@guardian) 21 января 2015
Pegida spokeswoman Kathrin Oertel, who took over the group following Bachmann's resignation, stepped down Wednesday due to threats, hostility and media hounding, according to a statement on the movement’s Facebook page.
According to a report by German newspaper Bild, Oertel, the group's deputy leader Rene Jahn and three other members stepped down as they did not want to be associated with "Nazi things and right-wing comments."
Pegida posted a statement Wednesday on Facebook stating that its next rally scheduled for February 2 was canceled due to "organizational and legal reasons."
The group's most recent march, which took place Monday, saw fewer participants than usually, according to the local media.
The movement has garnered increased attention in the wake of the Paris attacks on the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher market in early January, in which gunmen claiming allegiance to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group killed 17 people.
The movement's has spread across Europe, with offshoots holding Monday anti-Islamization rallies in Denmark, Norway, Britain and Switzerland.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the movement, vowing to protect Muslims living in Germany.
