Latest news with #CitizensoftheReich
Saudi Gazette
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Germany bans biggest 'Reichsbürger' group and arrests four of its leaders
BERLIN — Germany has banned an extremist far-right organization linked to the so-called "Reichsbürger" (Citizens of the Reich) movement and carried out dawn raids on its properties and leaders' homes, the interior ministry said on Tuesday. Hundreds of security forces across several German states searched properties associated with the self-styled "Königreich Deutschland" (Kingdom of Germany) group, and arrested four of its leading members, according to the government. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the organization's 6,000 members had created a "counter-state" in Germany and "built up economic criminal structures". The group underpinned its supposed claim to power with antisemitic conspiracy narratives, according to Dobrindt, who said Germany would not tolerate such behavior. "We will take decisive action against those who attack our free democratic basic order," Dobrindt added. The group's online platforms will be blocked and its assets will be confiscated to ensure that no further resources can be used for extremist purposes, the interior ministry said. The "Kingdom of Germany" was proclaimed by its leader Peter Fitzek, who was arrested on Tuesday, in the eastern town of Wittenberg in 2012, according to the interior ministry. The group claims to be a "counter-state" that has seceded from the federal government. The "Citizens of the Reich" movement does not recognize Germany as a state. Many of its members claim that the historical German Reich still exists and ignore the country's democratic and constitutional structures such as parliament, laws or courts. They also refuse to pay taxes, social security contributions or fines. Berlin has warned for years of the growing threat posed by far-right extremists and has repeatedly cracked down on such groups. In March, five people linked to the "Citizens of the Reich" movement were jailed for plotting to overthrow the German government in a far-right coup. In a separate case, 25 people were arrested in December 2022 for planning to topple the government as part of a domestic terrorist organization. Among the plotters was a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. — Euronews
France 24
13-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Police raid conspiracy theorist group 'Kingdom of Germany'
The group is part of a right-wing conspiracy theorist movement known as the "Citizens of the Reich" ("Reichsbuerger"), which rejects the legitimacy of the modern German republic. Among those detained was the group's self-proclaimed "king" Peter Fitzek, 59, a former chef and karate instructor. He founded the organisation, which has claimed to have about 6,000 members. Long dismissed as malcontents and oddballs, the Reichsbuerger have become increasingly radicalised and are considered a security threat by German authorities. Hundreds of security forces searched properties in seven states linked to the group, known in German as "Koenigreich Deutschland". The interior ministry said that over the past 10 years, the group had established "pseudo-state structures and institutions", issuing its own currency and identity papers and running an insurance scheme for its members. The ministry declared the dissolution of the group, which it accused of "attacking the liberal democratic order" of the federal Republic of Germany. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said that the members of the group had "created a 'counter-state' in our country and built up economic criminal structures". "In this way, they persistently undermine the legal system and the Federal Republic's monopoly on the use of force." Authorities said the association had financed itself primarily through prohibited banking and insurance transactions for its members as well as donations. The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe said Fitzek was arrested along with three other suspected ringleaders of the group, which was classified as a criminal organisation. 'Supreme sovereign' As the "so-called supreme sovereign," Fitzek had "control and decision-making power in all key areas", the Prosecutor's Office said. "The Kingdom of Germany considers itself a sovereign state within the meaning of international law and strives to extend its claimed 'national territory' to the borders of the German Empire of 1871," it added in a statement. Fitzek, who once ran unsuccessfully to enter parliament, anointed himself as "king" in 2012 in an elaborate ceremony complete with a crown and sceptre. He told AFP in an interview in 2023 that founding the organisation was the only answer to the "mass manipulation" he saw in German society. His followers tend to be people with a "pioneering spirit" who "want to make a positive change in this world", Fitzek told AFP in Wittenberg, the group's original base in eastern Germany. In Tuesday's raids, police searched locations in the states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. There were around 23,000 members of the Reichsbuerger movement in 2022, according to Germany's domestic intelligence agency. More than 2,000 of them were considered potentially violent. While Reichsbuerger members subscribe to an ideology similar to that of the Kingdom of Germany, the Reichsbuerger movement is made up of many disparate groups. In 2022, members of a group including an ex-MP and former soldiers were arrested over a plot to attack parliament, overthrow the government and install aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss as head of state.
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Raids across Germany after 'Reichsbuerger' group banned
BERLIN: Hundreds of police officers were conducting raids across Germany early on Tuesday after the interior ministry banned a hard-right militant group it referred to as the biggest arm of the so-called Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) movement. The raids in seven federal states took place in properties associated with the Koenigreich Deutschland (Kingdom of Germany) group and the homes of its leading members on Tuesday, the ministry said. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the group's 6,000 members had created a 'counter-state' in Germany and were undermining the legal system and the state's monopoly on the use of force. 'They underpin their supposed claim to power with antisemitic conspiracy narratives,' Dobrindt said. The order to ban the group was made just before the raids, the ministry said. Germany's domestic intelligence service Verfassungsschutz put the Reichsbuerger movement under observation in 2016, shortly after one of its members shot dead a policeman during a raid at his home. Its adherents believe that today's German democracy is an illegitimate facade and that they are citizens of a monarchy which, they maintain, endured after Germany's defeat in World War One, despite its formal abolition.
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Raids across Germany after ‘Reichsbuerger' group banned
BERLIN: Hundreds of police officers were conducting raids across Germany early on Tuesday after the interior ministry banned a hard-right militant group it referred to as the biggest arm of the so-called Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) movement. The raids in seven federal states took place in properties associated with the Koenigreich Deutschland (Kingdom of Germany) group and the homes of its leading members on Tuesday, the ministry said. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the group's 6,000 members had created a 'counter-state' in Germany and were undermining the legal system and the state's monopoly on the use of force. 'They underpin their supposed claim to power with antisemitic conspiracy narratives,' Dobrindt said. The order to ban the group was made just before the raids, the ministry said. Germany's domestic intelligence service Verfassungsschutz put the Reichsbuerger movement under observation in 2016, shortly after one of its members shot dead a policeman during a raid at his home. Its adherents believe that today's German democracy is an illegitimate facade and that they are citizens of a monarchy which, they maintain, endured after Germany's defeat in World War One, despite its formal abolition.
Local Germany
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
Police raid 'Kingdom of Germany' extremist group
The Federal Prosecutor's Office also announced the arrest of four people during the raids, including three founding members of the group. Described as "dangerous extremists" by the ministry, the Kingdom of Germany is part of the German conspiracy movement known as the "Citizens of the Reich", which rejects the legitimacy of the modern German republic. Its members believe in the continued existence of the pre-World War I German Reich. The ministry declared the dissolution of the group, which was accused of "attacking the liberal democratic order". Raids were launched in seven regions targeting the group, which has approximately 6,000 supporters. Authorities said its adherents "deny the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany and reject its legal system". Advertisement The ministry said the group was banned because "its objectives and activities are contrary to criminal law and run counter to the constitutional order". They said that over the past 10 years, the group had established "pseudo-state structures and institutions", including its own currency, identity papers and insurance system.
