(ConservativeSense.com) – German authorities foiled an alleged plan to kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in April. In the process, investigators reportedly followed a series of leads uncovering a far-right conspiracy plot. At dawn on Wednesday, December 7, more than 3,000 agents, including special forces and police, raided 150 homes and arrested 25 conspirators who allegedly planned to overthrow the government.
Prosecutors say members of the Reichsbürger group had already conceived and formed military and political arms to supplant the German government after they overthrew it. Prince Heinrich VIII of Reuss, 71, a descendant of German royalty and a prominent attorney, headed the organization’s political arm. The conspirators would have installed him as the new head of state. Rüdiger von Pescatore, 69, a retired soldier and paratrooper, took charge of the group’s military arm.
Germany has arrested 25 people on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government and seize power in a violent far-right coup https://t.co/ZYmzPMvVLt pic.twitter.com/vr9r0pK34H
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 7, 2022
The group included active and retired military members, a special forces member, and military reservists. Prosecutors found names of government officials the group targeted and said members and leaders knew they would need to use violence and military force to achieve their objectives. Heinrich VIII had already appointed ministers in a shadow government for health, justice, and foreign affairs.
Largely mocked as harmless political lunatics, the Reichsbürger became more radical in recent years. Members subscribed to QANON theories of governments run by the “Deep State” and rejected the legitimacy of the current German government as an administrative tool of allied states and shadowy elitists.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the probe and resulting raid provide “a glimpse into the abyss of a terrorist threat from the Reichsbürger scene.”
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