Nine to stand trial in Germany for far-right coup plan accusations
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The nine men are alleged to have aimed to "forcibly eliminate the existing state order" and replace it with their own institutions.
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A national flag of Germany waves in front of the Reichag building, home of the German federal parliament Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, on Jan. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
The first members of a far-right group that allegedly plotted to attack the German parliament and overthrow the government will go on trial in Stuttgart on Monday.
Nine suspected participants in the coup plot will stand trial in the first set of proceedings to open in the court case, split among three courts in three German cities.
The suspects are accused of taking part in the "military arm" of the organization led by businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss.
The organization led by Reuss included, among others, a former special forces soldier, a former far-right MP, an astrologer, and a well-known chef.
Reuss, along with other suspected senior members of the group, will face trial in the second of the three cases, in Frankfurt in late May.
The group aimed to install him as head of state after the planned takeover.
The alleged plotters adopted a mix of conspiracy myths based on the global far-right QAnon movement and the German Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) movement, according to prosecutors.
The Reichsbuerger movement includes right-wing extremists and gun enthusiasts who reject the legitimacy of the modern German republic.
Its followers generally believe in the continued existence of the pre-World War I German Reich, or empire, under a monarchy, and several groups have declared their own states.
According to investigators, Reuss's group shared a belief that Germany was run by members of a "deep state" and that the country could be liberated with the help of a secret international alliance.
The nine men to stand trial in Stuttgart are accused by prosecutors of preparing a "treasonous undertaking" as part of the Reichsbuerger plot.
As part of the group, they are alleged to have aimed to "forcibly eliminate the existing state order" and replace it with their own institutions.
The members of the military arm were tasked with establishing, supplying and recruiting new members for "territorial defence companies", according to prosecutors.
Police carried out raids across Germany in December 2022 to arrest most of the group, and the charges were brought at the end of last year. Overall 26 people are accused in the case, with trials also set to open in Munich and Frankfurt.
Reuss will stand trial in Frankfurt from May 21, alongside another ringleader, an ex-army officer identified as Ruediger v.P., and a former MP for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.
The Reichsbuerger group had allegedly organized a "council" to take charge after their planned coup, with officials warning preparations were at an advanced stage.
The alleged plotters had resources amounting to 500,000 euros ($536,000) and a "massive arsenal of weapons", according to federal prosecutors.
Earlier this month, police charged a new suspect in relation to another coup plot. The plotters, frustrated with pandemic-era restrictions, planned to kidnap the German Health Minister, investigators mentioned.
Five other suspected co-conspirators in that plot went on trial in Koblenz last May.
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