Office of the Attorney General - Indictment after major "Reichsbürger" raid
Following the large-scale anti-terror raid against so-called Reich citizens around a year ago, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has brought charges for the first time. A total of 27 suspects are involved, as the authorities announced in Karlsruhe on Tuesday. Among other things, they are accused of membership and support of a terrorist organization. The proceedings are to be conducted before the higher regional courts in Frankfurt am Main, Munich and Stuttgart. These must decide whether to admit the charges and schedule a trial.
On December 7 last year, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office had 25 men and women arrested in several federal states, Austria and Italy. Among them were former AfD member of the Bundestag Birgit Malsack-Winkemann and a soldier from the Special Forces Command (KSK) of the German Armed Forces. The businessman Heinrich XIII Prince Reuß is considered one of the ringleaders.
The circle of suspects is much larger and is constantly growing as the investigation progresses. Many of them are in custody.
The suspects are said to have planned to overthrow the political system in Germany. They would have deliberately accepted deaths. They had already worked out the outlines of structures for their own state order, the investigators had explained at the time. Henry XIII Prince Reuss was to have acted as head of state. Departments had also already been allocated: For example, the former judge Malsack-Winkemann should have been responsible for justice.
Targeting soldiers and police officers
The central body of the group was a "council". A transitional government was to negotiate the new state order in Germany with the victorious Allied powers of the Second World War. "From the association's point of view, the central point of contact for these negotiations is currently exclusively the Russian Federation."
A "military arm" was also to "eliminate" the democratic constitutional state at the level of municipalities, districts and local authorities, it said. Soldiers and police officers were specifically targeted for the coup, the federal prosecutor's office announced. According to the investigation, another plan was to force their way into the German Bundestag with a small armed group.
"Reich citizens" are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany and its democratic structures. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution attributed around 23,000 followers to the scene last year (2021: 21,000). More than five percent - around 1,250 people - are right-wing extremists. According to the report, around 2,300 of the "Reichsbürger" and "Selbstverwalter" are considered to be violence-oriented.
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- The raid against the "Reichsbürger" group in multiple countries last December included suspects from Germany, Austria, and Italy.
- Among those arrested was Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a former AfD member of the German Bundestag, and a soldier from the KSK, the Special Forces Command of the German federal armed forces.
- Heinrich XIII Prince Reuß, a rich citizen from Frankfurt on the Main, is considered one of the ringleaders of the group.
- The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe has brought charges against 27 individuals for their involvement in a terrorist organization.
- The indictment follows a large-scale anti-terror raid against so-called Reich citizens.
- The trial will be conducted at the higher regional courts in Frankfurt am Main, Munich, and Stuttgart.
- The suspects are accused of planning to overthrow the political system in Germany, with many willing to accept deaths in the process.
- They had also outlined the structures for their own state order, with Henry XIII Prince Reuss appointed as head of state.
- Departments had been allocated, such as justice, which would be overseen by former judge and ex-AfD member Malsack-Winkemann.
- The group targeted soldiers and police officers, intending to eliminate them at the local authority level to pave the way for a new state order.
- Another plan involved forcing their way into the German Bundestag with a small armed group.
- This radical group, known as "Reich citizens," rejects the Federal Republic of Germany and its democratic structures, with around 2,300 considered violent.
Source: www.stern.de
