Trial of far-right coup ‘ringleaders’ begins in Germany

BERLIN

The trial of ringleaders of the far-right Reichsburger terror network, accused of planning to topple the government, began in Frankfurt on Tuesday.


The alleged ringleader Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss is accused of being a suspected ringleader and is on trial before the Higher Regional Court along with eight other men and women.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses the defendants of being members of a terrorist group or of having supported it. Among them are ex-soldiers and a former lawmaker of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The trial is the second of three mammoth trials against the far-right group of so-called “Reich citizens”: the trial against suspected representatives of the military wing began in Stuttgart at the end of April. The remaining suspected members of the group will be on trial in Munich from June 18. The suspected conspirators were exposed during a large-scale anti-terror raid in December 2022.


Speaking on the court proceedings, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said: “It is good that from today onwards the alleged ringleaders of the largest terrorist group of ‘Reich Citizens’ to date will have to answer in court. The criminal trials in three higher regional courts at the same time have a new dimension. The defendants are not harmless weirdos, but rather dangerous terrorist suspects.”


“Our security authorities will continue their tough approach until we have completely exposed and dismantled militant “Reichsbürger” structures. Nobody in this extremist scene should feel safe,” she added.

According to the indictment, dating back to August 2021, the group was planning and preparing for a coup on “Day X”. Specifically, an armed group should have broken into the German parliament (Reichstag) building in Berlin to arrest members of the Bundestag and thus bring about the overthrow of the system. The plans deliberately took deaths into account.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office had said that around €500,000 ($543,085) and a massive arsenal of weapons were available for the plans.