On Wednesday morning, local time, German police carried out raids against a group accused of plotting to overthrow the state. A total of 130 properties nation-wide were raided, with concurrent raids in Italy and Austria, with 25 people arrested and another 27 under investigation.
The group was allegedly plotting to storm the Reichstag, the country’s parliament. They are said to have recruited members from the country’s army and police.
One of those arrested was a former member of the far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany) party. The AfD has condemned the planned action.
Another of those arrested was a former commander in the German army’s special forces. Authorities have reportedly searched the quarters of special forces detachments.
The suspects are believed by authorities to be part of a “domestic terrorist organisation”: “the members of the group follow a conglomerate of conspiracy myths consisting of narratives of the so-called Reichsbürger and QAnon ideologies,” Germany’s Attorney-General said in a statement.
According to the group, “liberation is promised by the imminent intervention of the ‘Alliance,’ a technically-superior secret society of governments, intelligence services and militaries of different states…The association is firmly convinced that members of the ‘alliance’ are already in Germany and that their attack on the ‘deep state’ is imminent.”
The Reichsbürger group considers the current German state to be an arm of Western occupation. They wish to overthrow the state and reinstate the Second Reich.
The group’s ringleader is an aristocratic pretender known as Heinrich XIII. German authorities say he has reached out to representatives of Russia for support, although “there are no indications that the contact persons have reacted positively to his request.”
The group has said they would end Germany’s involvement in the war in Ukraine. However, the current plot is believed by authorities to pre-date the February 2022 invasion.
The Reichsbürger movement was once known more for its members filing motions refusing to pay taxes and fines due to the supposed illegitimacy of the state. However, in 2016, a Reichsbürger member killed a police officer during a raid in which his weapons stash was being confiscated.
The suspects are due to face courts on Thursday and Friday.
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