Germany: Second Reichsbürger Coup Plot Trial Begins

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Facts

  • The second of three trials related to the alleged 2022 plot to attack Germany's parliament and take over the government began Tuesday. Nine defendants, including aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, stand accused.1
  • The defendants, who belong to a right-wing group called German Reichsbürger, also include Heinrich XIII's Russian girlfriend, a former policeman, and a former judge-turned-member of parliament (MP) for the right-wing AfD party.2
  • Reichsbürger is accused of plotting to use a 'massive arsenal' of weapons to overthrow what they believe to be an illegitimate German government installed by the Allied powers after World War II. They allegedly saw the death of England's Queen Elizabeth II as a sign to act.3
  • The group allegedly collected over €500K ($542K) in gold and cash, hundreds of firearms, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and explosives, and satellite phones to communicate after their planned takedown of the national power grid and telecommunications infrastructure.2
  • The alleged goal of the coup was to restore the pre-World War I German Empire, with Heinrich XIII as its leader. Prosecutors also claim they planned to broadcast a chained-up Chancellor Olaf Schulz on TV and garner public support.4
  • The case, which comes after 3K officers raided 150 locations in 2022, is expected to be one of the most complex trials since West Germany prosecuted former Auschwitz concentration camp commanders in the 1960s.5

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Guardian, 3BBC News, 4Saudigazette and 5New York Times.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by BundesamtfuerVerfassungsschutz. While many in the Reichsbürger movement are not extremists, those at the tip of this conspiratorial iceberg are driven by racism, antisemitism, and a desire to bring Germany back to the past through violent means. Their hatred is most troubling when linked to their anti-government sentiment, which prompted them to arm themselves in preparation for a violent coup d'état.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Europeanconservative. One of the men the police spied on in connection with the alleged coup plot was the former head of Germany's intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, who was fired in 2018 after disagreeing with former liberal Chancellor Angela Merkel. What's worse is that police spied on Massen's protected communications with his legal client. The government is using this story to target its political opponents.

Predictions