Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • PM Modi in Manipur
  • Charlie Kirk killer
  • Sushila Karki
  • IND vs PAK
  • India-US ties
  • New human organ
  • Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Movie Review
fp-logo
German police arrest 25 far-right extremists for plotting to overthrow the government
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
  • Home
  • World
  • German police arrest 25 far-right extremists for plotting to overthrow the government

German police arrest 25 far-right extremists for plotting to overthrow the government

Agence France-Presse • December 7, 2022, 17:55:52 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

Authorities deployed around 3,000 officers to conduct nationwide raids to target members of ‘Citizens of the Reich’ movement. The movement includes neo-Nazis, conspiracy theorists and gun enthusiasts who reject the legitimacy of the modern German republic

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Add as a preferred source on Google
Prefer
Firstpost
On
Google
German police arrest 25 far-right extremists for plotting to overthrow the government

Frankfurt: German police staged nationwide raids on Wednesday and arrested 25 people suspected of belonging to a far-right “terror cell” plotting to overthrow the government and attack parliament. Around 3,000 officers including elite anti-terror units took part in the early morning raids and searched more than 130 properties, in what German media described as one of the country’s largest police actions ever against extremists. The raids targeted alleged members of the “Citizens of the Reich” (Reichsbuerger) movement suspected of “having made concrete preparations to violently force their way into the German parliament with a small armed group”, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Those arrested are accused of having formed “a terrorist group by the end of November 2021 at the latest, which had set itself the goal of overcoming the existing state order in Germany and replacing it with their own kind of state”, they said. Two of the 25 arrests were made abroad, in Austria and Italy. The prosecutors in Karlsruhe said they had identified a further 27 people as suspected members or supporters of the terror network. “The accused are united by a deep rejection of state institutions and the free, democratic basic order of the Federal Republic of Germany,” they said. ‘Into the abyss’  The Reichsbuerger movement includes neo-Nazis, conspiracy theorists 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. Long dismissed as malcontents and oddballs, the Reichsbuerger have become increasingly radicalised in recent years and are seen as a growing security threat. The investigation gave “a look into the abyss” of far-right terror from the movement, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement. According to prosecutors, the terror cell suspects believe in Reichsbuerger and QAnon conspiracy theories and are “strongly convinced” that Germany is run by a “deep state” that needs to be toppled. The suspects were aware that their plan “could only be realised by using military means and violence against state representatives,” prosecutors said. They allegedly planned to appoint one of the arrested suspects, identified by local media as aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, as Germany’s new leader after the coup. Heinrich XIII had already sought to make contact with Russian officials to discuss Germany’s “new state order” after the coup, prosecutors said. There was however “no indication that the contact persons responded positively to his request.” A Russian woman named only as Vitalia B., who was among those arrested on Wednesday, is suspected of having facilitated those contacts, prosecutors added. The Russian embassy in Berlin said it did “not maintain contacts with representatives of terrorist groups or other illegal entities”, according to a statement carried by Russian news agencies. Defend democracy As part of the preparations for the coup, members of the alleged terror cell acquired weapons, organised shooting practice and tried to recruit new followers, particularly among the military and police, according to prosecutors. Former soldiers are believed to be among the members of the recently established terror group, they said. An ex-MP for the far-right AfD party, was also among those accused of being part of the plot, according to German media reports. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann praised on Twitter the dismantling of the “suspected terror cell”, saying it showed that Germany was able to defend its democracy. Germany’s domestic intelligence service estimates that the Reichsbuerger scene consists of around 20,000 people. Of those, more than 2,000 are deemed potentially violent. Germany considers far-right terrorism the biggest threat to its security following a spate of attacks in recent years. In April, police foiled a plot by a far-right group to kidnap the health minister. The group was affiliated with the Reichsbuerger movement and the so-called “Querdenker” (Lateral Thinkers) group that opposed the government’s coronavirus-related shutdowns. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.

Tags
NewsTracker Germany Reichsbuerger far right extremist
End of Article
Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
End of Article

Impact Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Erika Kirk delivered an emotional speech from her late husband's studio, addressing President Trump directly. She urged people to join a church and keep Charlie Kirk's mission alive, despite technical interruptions. Erika vowed to continue Charlie's campus tours and podcast, promising his mission will not end.

More Impact Shorts

Top Stories

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports

QUICK LINKS

  • Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV