The far-right plotters who want old Germany back
A bizarre coup d’etat plot was foiled when more than 3,000 police and security forces raided 130 locations across Germany and arrested 25 people. The detainees were all connected to a far-right movement called the “Reichsbürger,” which means “citizens of the Reich.”
Among those arrested are a physician, a member of a military special forces unit, a lawyer, and a politician from the far-right AfD party (Alternative für Deutschland). Two people were arrested in Austria and Italy, one of whom is a Russian national.
German authorities estimate that the Reichsbürger movement has around 21,000 adherents across the country. The movement includes several far-right groups that reject the legitimacy of the Federal Republic of Germany and its constitution, established in the wake of World War II.
The plotters of the coup attempt had developed a detailed plan to attack public institutions, overthrow the government, and install as leader Prince Heinrich XIII, a member of a royal family that once ruled parts of eastern Germany.
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