- Judgment in the Right-wing coup plot trial
In the trial against a suspected right-wing terrorist from Heiligenhaus near Essen, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court will deliver its verdict on Wednesday (from 10:30 AM). The now 50-year-old defendant is accused of membership in a terrorist organization and preparing a high treason offense.
The representative of the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor's Office had previously requested a sentence of three years and nine months imprisonment. The man had admitted his involvement in coup plans during the trial. He had joined the right-wing terrorist "Kaiserreich group" and supported its coup plans.
Attacks on power lines and kidnapping
The defense requested a sentence of no more than two and a half years imprisonment and transfer to open custody. They emphasized that he was not a "Reich citizen", but rather a misguided COVID-19 opponent who had only wanted to make himself important among the plotters. The lawyers referred to him as a "paper tiger".
According to the indictment, the "Kaiserreich group" planned to use explosives to disrupt Germany's power supply for weeks. Furthermore, Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) was to be kidnapped. The coup action was initially scheduled to begin in May 2022.
In Hamburg, one of the group's supporters was already sentenced to a 24-month suspended sentence in early July. The trial against five suspected ringleaders has been ongoing at the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz for over a year.
The verdict in the criminal trial against the right-wing terrorist will potentially impact his sentence for his involvement in coup plans and membership in a terrorist organization. The prosecution had requested a stern sentence due to his support for the "Kaiserreich group's" attacks on power lines and kidnapping plot.
