Germany bans far-right ‘Kingdom of Germany' group
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced the ban, calling the group a threat to democratic order whose members refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the German government, follow its laws or pay taxes or fines.
'The members of this association have created a 'counter-state' in our country and built up economic criminal structures,' Dobrindt said.
'We will take decisive action against those who attack our free democratic basic order,' he added.
The group is part of the 'Reich citizen' movement, which claims the historical German Reich still exists. Dobrindt noted that the group's claim to power is built on antisemitic conspiracies, which he said cannot be tolerated.
'This is not about harmless nostalgia, as the title of the association might suggest, but about criminal structures, criminal networks,' Dobrindt said later to reporters.
'That's why it's being banned today,' he said.
Approximately 800 police officers participated in the raids Tuesday. German law enforcement arrested four high-ranking members of the group, including its leader, Peter Fitzek.
The Associated press contributed.
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The Hill
4 hours ago
- The Hill
How Trump introduced European leaders
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The Hill
6 hours ago
- The Hill
What to know about the Trump-Zelensky White House meeting
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Boston Globe
6 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Europeans try to turn Trump away from Kremlin in summit on Ukraine
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Trump reveled at Monday's tableau, saying that the White House had never seen such a collection of prime ministers and presidents, all of whom dropped what they were doing to rush to Washington to try to salvage Ukraine's security. Advertisement British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, confered with French President Emmanuel Macron during the meeting at the White House. Win McNamee/Getty Several of the leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, tried to frame their goals as Trump's own, portraying an immediate ceasefire and robust U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine as ideas endorsed by the White House. Trump, however, appeared to reject a ceasefire and remained vague about what he would offer Ukraine to bolster its defense as part of any deal. Instead, he portrayed Putin as someone who is eager to halt the fighting. 'I don't think there's any issue that's overly complex. 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Advertisement He also handed the president who loves letters a handwritten note from his wife for first lady Melania Trump, thanking her for her letter to Putin about the plight of children in Ukraine. Zelensky remained cordial in the opening remarks of the Oval Office meeting, even as Trump appeared to concede to some of Putin's demands. Trump claimed that 'strategically' a ceasefire 'could be a disadvantage for one side or the other,' as Ukraine and European leaders seek an immediate halt to the fighting. The main beneficiary of a ceasefire would be Ukrainian civilians, who would be spared after more than three years of attacks. Without a ceasefire, Russia has continued to pound Ukraine, killing at least two children in overnight attacks in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Zelensky said in the Oval Office that one of the victims was under the age of 2. Merz pressed Trump to secure a ceasefire, saying that he 'can't imagine' the next meeting could occur without one. 'And let's try to put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of this effort, these efforts we are undertaking today are depending on at least a ceasefire from the beginning of the serious negotiations from next step,' Merz said. Trump said that the United States would be 'involved' in keeping peace in Ukraine after any peace agreement with Russia, but offered few specifics on the role that U.S. forces would play. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House. Alex Brandon/Associated Press 'The European nations are going to take a lot of the burden,' Trump said in a meeting with Zelensky and the other leaders. 'We're going to help them, and we're going to make it very secure.' As Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials met with Zelensky in the Oval Office, the leaders of NATO, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland and the European Union all were left to wait for their turn with Trump, after having been asked to arrive at the South Portico shortly before Zelensky. Advertisement Ahead of the meetings, Trump suggested a deal is possible. 'Not very far from now, a week or two weeks, we're going to know whether or not we're going to solve this or is this horrible fighting going to continue. We'll do the best to get it ended,' Trump said. 'And I believe we have two willing parties, and usually that's good news.' European leaders have welcomed Trump's new openness to possible U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, which he offered in general terms while briefing them by phone after Friday's meeting with Putin. Ukraine's European allies have long sought such a U.S. role. But several officials familiar with the talks said specifics on those guarantees remained unclear in phone calls with Trump. European officials insist that guarantees are key to any settlement to give Kyiv protection against future attacks and a means for Zelensky to get domestic acceptance for a deal with Russia. A coalition led by France and Britain has for months planned ways to back Ukraine in a future deal, including with weapons and possibly some troops. France and Britain, Europe's only nuclear powers, are the only countries that have announced readiness to deploy troops. As other big nations, such as Germany, hesitate, ideas on the size of such a force were whittled down. Beyond troops, however, plans include providing air and sea power to secure Ukraine's skies, nuclear sites and Black Sea corridors, and above all, reinforcing Ukraine's army with pledges of weapons and training. Advertisement France and Britain had sought U.S. support for a deployment of a small group of forces to postwar Ukraine, away from the front lines. The proposals draw on U.S. backing with key capabilities such as intelligence and satellite surveillance and would aim to deter Russia from attempting to reignite the war. The meeting with President Trump and European leaders. Win McNamee/Getty Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said ahead of Monday's meeting that the weekend call with Trump offered a 'glimmer of hope' and included 'credible and robust' security guarantees, touching on the idea of guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5 on collective mutual defense - that an attack on one is an attack on all. It remains unclear how this would work and what exact role Washington would play, officials said. The idea of security guarantees has faced some skepticism from other European officials, who note that promises of coming to Ukraine's defense if it is attacked have been made in the past but did not bring protection.
