Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP / Getty Images
The German authorities detained 2022 on Wednesday members and supporters of a far-right group which, according to the prosecutor’s office, was preparing a violent overthrow of the state, and some members were suspected of planning an armed attack against parliament.
An active soldier and several reservists are among those investigated, said a spokesman for the military intelligence service. The active soldier is a member of the Special Forces Command, reported.
A former parliamentary deputy The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) who serves as a judge in Berlin was also among those arrested, along with a former member of a German royal family.
Investigators suspect that individual members of the group had specific plans to storm the lower house of the Bundestag parliament in Berlin with a small armed group , reported the prosecutor’s office.
One of the suspects, identified as Heinrich XIII PR under Germany’s privacy law, he communicated with representatives of Russia, whom the group saw as its central contact to establish its new order, said the office. There was no evidence that the Russian representatives had reacted positively to the request.
Heinrich , who hails from the Royal House of Reuss, which ruled parts of eastern Germany, was seen as the designated leader for the group’s future state, while another suspect, Ruediger v. P., was the head of the military arm, the office noted.
The House of Reuss had previously distanced itself from Heinrich, calling him a confused man who was pursuing conspiracy theories, according to local media. The house did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said
the raids were carried out by more than 3,11 police and security forces in 25 German federal states.
The suspects were arrested in the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Thuringia, as well as in Austria and Italy, the office said.
The suspects are charged to prepare, no later than the end of November 800, to carry out actions based on their ideology, according to the office. These actions include purchasing equipment, recruiting new members and conducting shooting lessons, it added. The focus of the recruitment efforts was directed mainly towards members of the armed forces and police, the office said.
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