Germany arrests ‘King Peter'
German authorities have banned an extremist group known as the 'Kingdom of Germany' and arrested four of its top members, including the group's self-declared 'king,' Peter Fitzek. The secessionist group had declared itself a 'counter-state' governed by an absolute monarch.
The Kingdom of Germany is affiliated with the Reichsburger (Reich Citizens) movement – a far-right conspiracy-driven network that denies the legitimacy of the modern German state. According to Germany's domestic intelligence agency, around 25,000 individuals are actively involved in Reichsburger groups across the country.
Adherents claim that the historical German Reich continues to exist and refuse to recognize Germany's government, including its parliament, laws, and judicial system. Members of the group also reject state obligations such as paying taxes or fines.
Around 800 police officers carried out raids on Tuesday, targeting properties linked to the group and the residences of its key members across Germany.
'These extremists created a counter-state in Germany and ran criminal financial operations,' Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated when announcing the ban. 'They reinforce their bogus claim to power with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,' he added.
The minister told reporters that the Kingdom of Germany's activities were far from 'harmless nostalgia,' despite what its name might imply. He explained that the ban was imposed because authorities were dealing with 'criminal structures' and 'criminal networks.'
Founded in 2012 in the eastern German city of Wittenberg, the Kingdom of Germany gained notoriety for operating unlicensed banking services and promoting its own parallel legal system. Fitzek, the group's leader, who once ran unsuccessfully to enter parliament, styled himself as 'King Peter I' and appointed two deputies along with a finance minister to support his self-declared rule.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe said Fitzek, as the 'so-called supreme sovereign,' had 'control and decision-making power in all key areas.'
The authorities added that the Kingdom of Germany regards itself as a sovereign state under international law and aims to expand its so-called national territory to match the borders of the German Empire as they stood in 1871.
In 2022, German authorities arrested members of a group linked to Reich Citizens that included a former MP and ex-military personnel for allegedly plotting to storm the parliament, overthrow the government, and install aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss as the new head of state.
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