BERLIN (Reuters) – German police are planning more arrests as they probe a far-right group prosecutors say are preparing to overthrow the country and install a former member of the German royal family as national leader. ing.
Investigators believe that this group, many of which were members of the Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) movement, planned to appoint the aristocrat Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss as leader of the new state, and that some members It said it had found evidence that it was planning to raid Congress and arrest members of Congress.
Heinrich is a descendant of the Reuss royal family of eastern Thuringia. The 71-year-old, who works as a property developer, was arrested Wednesday in the financial hub of Frankfurt.
Prosecutors said 19 of the conspiracy suspects were remanded to custody on Wednesday and another six were scheduled to appear before a judge on Thursday. Many of the suspects are over the age of 50 and include right-wingers, COVID deniers, and rejecters of the modern German state.
Federal Police Chief Holger Münch told broadcaster ARD on Thursday that the number of suspects in the case now stands at 54 and could rise further.
“We have a dangerous mix of people who follow irrational beliefs. Some people are,” Muenchi said.
The discovery of the alleged conspiracy has shocked one of Europe’s most stable democracies and largest economies.
“I’m not sure. I’ve heard about such plans from other countries. Is this going to happen outside my doorstep?” said Melanie Merle.
“Our government isn’t ideal, but it’s probably better than what they had planned,” she laughed.
Neither the Royce family nor Heinrich’s office responded to requests for comment.
A former parliamentarian for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was also detained, prosecutors said.
conspiracy theory
Prosecutors say the group was inspired by a Deep State conspiracy theory that German Reichsbürger and QAnon supporters were among those arrested after the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Stated.
Reichsbürger members do not recognize modern Germany and its borders as a legitimate state. Some lean towards the old German “Reich” (Empire) under the monarchy, while others share Nazi ideas and believe Germany is under military occupation.
Police raided a hunting lodge in Thuringia’s Weidmannsheil on Thursday.
The town’s deputy mayor said letters had been sent to locals saying that passports issued by German authorities were not valid.
“All citizens of Bad Loebenstein have received a letter this summer saying that we are not German because our passports are not German,” André Berkhardt told Reuters.
“The Reuss administration was then given the opportunity to apply for documents of German origin, which of course caused a great outcry among the public,” he added.
Thuringian Interior Minister Georg Meyer has accused the AfD, which belongs to the cantonal parliament, of acting as an intermediary for right-wing extremists and spreading what he called fantasies about subversion.
“People are frightened and the AfD is using it to offer a simple solution,” said Meyer, a Social Democrat led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In a statement Wednesday, the AfD condemned the efforts of far-right groups and expressed confidence in the authorities’ ability to clarify the situation quickly and fully.
(This story has been amended to correct the reference to Hunting Lodge in paragraph 14)
Reporting by Miranda Murray Writing by Keith Weir Editing by Kirsty Knoll, Toby Chopra, Raissa Kasorovsky, Nick McPhee
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