(Berlin) A prince, former elite soldiers, a Russian national and a former far-right deputy: such is the sulphurous formation of a conspiratorial group, ready to overthrow the German democratic institutions, whose plans have were foiled on Wednesday.
This cell fed on the ideology of the “Reichsbürger” (Citizens of the Reich), an extremist movement which grew with health restrictions, was built with a quasi-governmental organization, with a view to a coup State.
“She had set up a council with people already designated for certain ministerial portfolios […] and a military arm with a new German army, ”described anti-terrorism prosecutor Peter Frank, during a press briefing in Karlsruhe (west).
Later, he told ARD that the group’s preparations were “at an advanced stage”, although no date had been set. “We are sure they would have taken action,” he added.
Founded “by the end of 2021 at the latest”, the small group had “the objective of overcoming the existing state order in Germany”, a project that could only be carried out “through the use of military means and violence against the state officials”.
In the early morning, 25 people were arrested during a large sweep across the country, one arrest took place in Austria and another in Italy. The survey targets a total of 52 people.
Justice suspects them of “having made concrete preparations to violently enter the German Bundestag”, the Chamber of Deputies in Berlin, “with a small armed group”, according to a press release from the prosecution. A scenario reminiscent of the assault on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump in the United States.
‘Deeply worried’
Some 3,000 law enforcement personnel were mobilized and more than 130 searches were carried out in what media described as the largest such police operation ever in Germany.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was “deeply worried” about the plot, saying a “new level” had been reached.
Are quoted by justice as presumed ringleaders: “Henri XIII PR” and “Rüdiger v. P.”.
PHOTO REUTERS TV, REUTERS
German police officers escort a suspect arrested on Wednesday morning.
The first, identified by the German press as Prince Reuss, descendant of a line of sovereigns of the regional state of Thuringia (east), is a septuagenarian entrepreneur.
Arrested in Frankfurt, he also owned a castle near Bad Lobenstein in central Germany, which was raided.
The second is, according to the media, a former lieutenant-colonel of the Bundeswehr, commander of a battalion of paratroopers in the 1990s and founder of a commando unit of special forces (KSK).
Other soldiers are involved in the plot, including one who still has functions, a member of the KSK, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Arne Collatz.
Another protagonist, the Russian “Vitalia B.”, identified by the German press as being the companion of Henry XIII, has, according to the prosecutors, served as an intermediary in an attempt to contact the Russian authorities for possible support. .
The Kremlin for its part firmly denied Wednesday any “Russian interference” in this file.
Judge in Berlin
The authorities also arrested a magistrate, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a former member of the far-right AFD party who sat in the Bundestag between 2017 and 2021.
Without naming her directly, prosecutor Peter Frank said that “a former member of the Bundestag was approached for the justice portfolio” in the conspiracy government.
Proceedings have been initiated to remove her from her position as a judge in Berlin.
After their coup, the conspirators had imagined placing Prince Reuss at the head of their executive.
At least four meetings were held over the summer to expand the network, according to the prosecutor’s office, with recruitment efforts particularly targeting police and military personnel.
The military branch of the crime cell was responsible for purchasing weapons and organizing training.
In recent years, the German authorities have ranked far-right violence as the number one threat to public order, ahead of the jihadist risk.
In the spring, they had dismantled another far-right group, suspected of having planned attacks and the kidnapping of the Minister of Health, at the origin of the anti-COVID-19 restriction measures.
Of the estimated 20,000 militants of the Reichsbürger movement in Germany, a fringe has become radicalized, integrating in particular Holocaust deniers and considering recourse to violent action.