More than fifty people are being investigated in the environment of the right-wing extremist group Reichburger either citizens of the kingdom who was allegedly planning a coup d’etat in Germany. About twenty of them are currently being held. Among those arrested are a self-proclaimed prince, a retired paratrooper and a former judge. The police emphasize that it is a dangerous mixture.
“The number of defendants that we, and especially the federal prosecutor, naturally assume to be members of this terrorist organization or collaborators, currently stands at 54. Two others arrived yesterday and do not know exactly what their relationship to this group is . It is quite possible that this number will continue to grow,” said Holger Münch, President of the Federal Criminal Police Office.
Since 2016, “Reichsbürger” has been observed by the domestic secret service. Authorities estimate this loose movement has around 21,000 followers.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has today deemed the presence of a former MP from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the alleged terrorist organization yesterday dismantled and planning to take over the Bundestag to carry out a coup d’etat as “particularly serious”. .
“It is obviously a more than remarkable and very serious case,” said Scholz in an appearance before the heads of government of the federal states on the searches carried out yesterday in eleven federal states, in which 25 people were arrested.
The macro police operation shows “the ability of our democracy to act” and the determination to act “with all determination” against these groups.
Among the detainees, 23 of whom were taken into custody today, was the judge and former AfD MP Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.
According to investigations launched by the Attorney General’s Office, the group is linked to the “Reichsbürger,” a radical movement that does not recognize Germany’s current borders and its constitutional order or authorities.
The organization consists of a kind of executive council and an armed wing, reported Attorney General Peter Frank, and aims to “destroy the basic democratic order in Germany with violence and military means”.
The leader of the group is said to be a noble identified by prosecutors as Henry KR, who calls himself Henry XIII. or called Prince of Reuss.
It’s about a 71-year-old businessman based in Frankfurt, who works in the real estate industry and is known for spreading conspiracy theories.
Among those arrested was a Russian citizen allegedly tasked with opening negotiations with Russia after the parliament attack.
A total of 3,000 agents participated in the police operation and 150 homes or offices were registered, spread across 11 states.
The AfD, the main agglutinator of far-right voices in the country and the only party on this spectrum to have won seats in the Bundestag so far, called the police operation disproportionate and accused the authorities of trying to divert attention from the problems.