It\u2019s an alleged coup plot featuring a German aristocrat, a \u201cmassive arsenal\u201d of weapons and the belief that Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s death might have been a secret \u201csignal\u201d to act.<\/b><\/p>\n
The trial of nine men and women allegedly connected to the so-called Reichsb\u00fcrger movement got under way on Tuesday with those accused of being ringleaders appearing before judges.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors say they hatched a conspiracy to violently overthrow the German government and accuse them of being members of a “terrorist organisation”.<\/p>\n
Investigators say the plotters had planned to storm the Reichstag and that they were conspiracy theorists who believed the country was being run by a \u201cdeep state\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not terrorists. They\u2019re slightly crazy,” said defence lawyer Roman von Alvensleben. “They\u2019ve followed conspiracy theories and they found each other during corona in their resistance against corona measures.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hearing in Frankfurt on Tuesday is the highest profile of three trials following nationwide raids in 2022.<\/p>\n
The case is seen as highly significant because of both its size and the potential insights it could give into far-right networks.<\/p>\n
The Reichsb\u00fcrger, or citizens of the Reich, is a loose, disparate group that denies the legitimacy of the modern German state \u2013 even claiming it was installed by the victorious Allied powers after World War Two.<\/p>\n
Domestic intelligence has estimated that around 23,000 people follow the movement which displays “antisemitic attitudes” and a \u201chigh affinity\u201d for weapons.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s alleged that those on trial followed Reichsb\u00fcrger narratives and drew up plans for an armed group to enter the national parliament in Berlin and arrest MPs on what was called \u201cDay X\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, there were discussions about whether the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II was a \u201csignal\u201d.<\/p>\n
Much of the attention has focused on Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, a real estate developer from Frankfurt who is descended from an aristocratic family, the House of Reuss.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s alleged the 72-year-old held meetings of the group\u2019s “central council” at his home in east Germany and was earmarked as the “head of state”, had the coup succeeded.<\/p>\n
But his lawyer, Roman von Alvensleben, said that while Prince Reuss had invited people to his castle for political discussions, he was incapable of being behind such a scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe denies he was ever violent. He denies that he ever wanted to kill people or made any plans to do so,” he said.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, he\u2019d have been responsible for negotiating a peace treaty with the Allies \u2013 and had appeared at the Russian consulate in Leipzig, as part of attempts to reach out to Moscow.<\/p>\n
Also standing trial is former judge and MP for the far-right Alternative for Deutschland party, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors say she used her access rights to parliamentary properties to \u201csmuggle\u201d in co-conspirators to scout the area \u2013 and was responsible for the justice department on the group\u2019s central council.<\/p>\n
Their plans to reorganise Germany\u2019s political structures would have involved a take-over of institutions at a state and local level. It is alleged that members were aware that this would \u201cinvolve killing people\u201d.<\/p>\n
The “council” was to act as the central body while a “military arm” \u2013 consisting of 286 units \u2013 would have enforced the new order nationwide.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors say the group had access to a \u201cmassive arsenal\u201d of weapons including firearms, ammunition as well as night vision devices and handcuffs.<\/p>\n
The association also had financial resources of around 500,000 euros, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n
Over time, members are said to have become \u201cincreasingly isolated\u201d from the outside world.<\/p>\n
Jan Rathje, a senior researcher at the extremism monitoring agency CeMAS, says conspiratorial, sovereigntist movements can be dated back to a wish by some former Nazis to re-establish a National Socialist German Reich.<\/p>\n
He says that the Reichsb\u00fcrger movement, which has a violent, far-right tradition, has been dangerously underestimated.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople always thought these were crazy people just writing crazy letters to the government,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
Mr Rathje says that even though the alleged coup attempt would likely not have succeeded, people still could have been seriously hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a symbolic level, this would have been a success for these radical forces because they would have struck against the government in a violent way and this might promote the idea that the government is weak.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trials \u2013 split into three because of the case\u2019s size \u2013 are taking place in Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Munich.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"