Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) German law enforcement authorities arrested 25 individuals on Wednesday in a massive, coordinated international raid. The arrested far-right extremists reportedly planned to overthrow the German federal government and install a prince who had sought support from Russia.
According to German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, the suspects are members of a “domestic terrorist organization,” and all were German citizens with extremist leanings save for a single Russian national.
The network had known ties to the Reichsbürger movement – a collection of fringe right-wing groups who believe that the pre-World War II constitution was never legally nullified and that they continue to live in the pre-war German Reich.
“Since this morning a large anti-terror operation is taking place,” Buschmann announced in a press conference on Wednesday. “The Federal Public Prosecutor General is investigating a suspected terror network from the Reichsbürger scene. The suspicion exists that an armed attack on constitutional organs was planned.”
Russian connections
The massive raid reportedly covered 130 properties belonging to 52 suspects in 11 German federal states, with one suspect arrested in Austria and one in Italy. More than 3,000 law enforcement officers participated in the raids. The federal prosecutor’s office issued a release stating that 27 suspects remain at large.
The two ringleaders were identified only as Heinrich XIII P. R. and Ruediger v. P., as German privacy laws forbid revealing the full names of suspects until legally found guilty. The organization planned to install P. R., a member of a former royal family, as the rightful ruler of Germany, having contacted Russian officials for help. A Russian national, a woman identified as Vitalia B., allegedly helped P. R. to contact Russian authorities.
The Russian diplomatic representatives in Berlin deny having had any contact with the group. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the matter appears to be “an internal German problem,” stressing there could be no question of any Russian involvement in the plot.
Suspects include an active-duty soldier in the Special Forces Command of the Bundeswehr (KSK), several army reservists and a Berlin judge, former far-right Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) party representative in Bundestag, Birgit Malsack-Winkelmann.
QAnon conspiracy
The raids were triggered by a separate investigation into another Reichsbürger group, which had allegedly planned to kidnap Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. Heinrich XIII’s group reportedly targeted members of the Bundeswehr and police in an attempt to achieve its goals. The organization formed its military arm, and assembled a mock government, with a council presided over by P. R.
According to the investigators, the members of the group were prepared to use military means and violence to achieve their goals, while following “a conglomerate of conspiracy myths consisting of narratives of the so-called ‘Reichsbürger’, as well as QAnon ideology.”
The group’s similarities with the US-based QAnon conspiracy movement consisted of believing that a so-called “deep state” was ruling over Germany, echoing parallel baseless claims made by former US President Donald Trump.
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