Illegal Activity Wrongdoing or misdeeds perpetrated by individuals or groups. - Operation Targeting "Reichsbürger" Movement: Prince Reuß Affair
The peeling wallpaper, lowered shutters, and armed police guards now stand in front of a potentially ancient gate that once may have led to a wine cellar. The raid, aiming at individuals supporting the purported terrorist group allegedly linked to the "Reichsbürger" ideologue Heinrich XIII. Prince Reuß, has stirred up the local community of Althengstett in the North Black Forest.
In social media, images of the operation and suspicions of gunfire, fatalities, and casualties have been spread. The lack of information has left the community tense, says Mayor Rüdiger Klahm (independent). Despite this, rumors of concealed arsenals belonging to the "Reichsbürger" have been circulated.
Two individuals: Supporting a domestic terrorist movement
At the end of the day, the main charges are that a 73-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman from Baden-Württemberg provided the group led by Prince Reuß with locations in Saxony for recruitment events in the 2021/2022 winter. The woman is also said to have handed over a vehicle to one of the accused leaders, Rüdiger v. P., in the autumn of 2021. The Federal Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman confirms they will face charges for supporting a domestic terrorist organization.
Without any arrests, police conducted searches at seven locations and three pieces of land as part of a large operation since early morning. The Karlsruhe authority spokeswoman explains this information, which the "Spiegel" had already reported.
According to dpa reports, the apartments of the two suspects in Althengstett and Bad Teinach-Zavelstein (both Calw district) have been searched, as well as the associated plots. It could take some time for all the measures to be completed.
A neighbor in Althengstett remembers seeing police vehicles with blue lights on the street from her bathtub. A police officer signaled her to move away from the window. Moments later, she heard a loud explosion. The window glass was broken. She doubts that her neighbor has committed a crime, the woman reiterates. An elderly man who is over 80 years old recounts watching events unfold from his armchair. "It all went pretty smoothly - the street was closed off, and no one really noticed it here."
The so-called Reichsbürger in Germany claim that the German Reich (1871-1945) still exists. They reject the jurisdiction of the Federal Republic and its laws.
The group around Prince Reuß became renowned following a major antiterror raid shortly after St. Nicholas' Day 2022 across various German states and countries. Dozens of people have been arrested over the past few months in connection with this. The accused are said to have conspired to overthrow Germany's political system. They accept casualties, it's stated in the remand.
The suspected individuals are to be tried in three separate cases at the Oberlandesgerichte in Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart, and Munich starting from June 18. In Frankfurt, a BKA official provided evidence about Reuß's personal affairs, including his business connections, online activities, number of cars, finances, and residences. The defense lawyers repeatedly interrupted the testimony.
In Stuttgart, the military component of the alleged terrorist group is being brought to trial. According to the indictment, they were planning to seize power by force. This allegedly entailed establishing a nationwide system of 286 militarily organized units, known as "Heimatschutzkompanien." The "Heimatschutzkompanie Nr. 221" reportedly had responsibility for the regions of Freudenstadt and Tübingen, located in the area where the Landkreis Calw also lies.
Over 700 officers from the Bundeskriminalamt, Bundespolizei, and various state police forces participated in the search operations. The BKA spokeswoman also mentioned the involvement of special units from both the federal and state levels, along with the deployment of heavy equipment.
The Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Dresden led two raids against the Reichsbürger movement in the Erzgebirgskreis, with tactics pursued in Seiffen and Pockau-Lengefeld. No further details of these raids were immediately available.
