Twenty-five right-wing extremists were arrested in Germany on Wednesday morning who allegedly wanted to commit an armed coup. This was announced by a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office.
As part of a significant operation, some three thousand German police officers carried out raids on more than 130 locations on Wednesday morning: in eleven of the sixteen German states and also in Italy and Austria. The group reportedly wanted to storm the Reichstag and stage a coup.
“The accused are part of a terrorist organization founded in November 2021, which set itself the goal of overthrowing the existing government in Germany and replacing it with its form of government, which they had already devised,” said the Generalbundesanwalt. . For example,,, those responsible for new ministries would have already been chosen. “They also do not shy away from violence: the organization was aware that there would be deaths,” it sounds.
“Democracy is well defended: a major anti-terrorism operation has been underway since this morning,” German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann wrote on Twitter.
The group would consist of 52 men and women who wanted to replace the German Republic with a state modelled on the German Empire, as it was founded in 1871. Of the 25 arrested, 22 are said to be full members of the organization – two considered their leaders -and three others considered accomplices. In addition, there are 27 other suspects.
A 71-year-old man known as “Prince Henry XIII” is said to be at the centre of the group’s plans. Birgit M.-W., a 58-year-old Berlin judge and former member of parliament for the far-right AfD, a man who works as a special commando in the German army, and several other former members of the German army are also said to be part of the group. The Russian Vitalia B. is the only non-German suspect who was arrested.
It would partly concern members of the Reichsbürger movement. That movement does not recognize the legitimacy of the German state. Its members are known for their racist conspiracy theories, often refuse to pay taxes, collect illegal weapons en masse, and have reacted violently to police actions.
The movement consists of smaller subordinate groups, with names such as “Confederation of the German Reich” or “Kingdom of Germany”. Germany’s domestic intelligence service estimates that the movement has about 21,000 supporters.