Latest news with #KingdomOfGermany
Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
German police arrest suspected neo-Nazi teenagers
German police have arrested five teenagers suspected of belonging to a neo-Nazi group that has been recruiting members via social media and committing arson attacks against immigrants to 'flush the muck out of our nation'. The five boys, aged 14 to 18, were arrested in raids on 13 sites in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Hesse on Wednesday morning. Three further suspects aged 18 to 21 are already in custody. The suspects were accused of being members of the terrorist group Letzte Verteidigungswelle (Last Wave of Defence), which was formed in April last year. Raids had also been made last week on another extremist group, the Kingdom of Germany, as part of a crackdown on far-right groups. Figures released on Wednesday showed a 48 per cent
Russia Today
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
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.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany bans far-right ‘Kingdom of Germany' group
The German government banned the far-right 'Kingdom of Germany' group on Tuesday and arrested four of its leaders in raids throughout the country. 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘King' of group wanting to install monarchy in Germany arrested
German authorities have banned a far-Right monarchist group and arrested its self-proclaimed 'King'. In raids across seven German states, police arrested senior members of the 'Kingdom of Germany', which rejects the existence of the post-war German state and is led by Peter Fitzek. Alexander Dobrindt, the new German interior minister, banned the group owing to its alleged anti-Semitic views and attempts to build a 'counter state' opposed to democratic order in Germany. The group is part of the wider, loosely connected 'Reichsbürger' movement, whose members typically deny the legitimacy of the modern German state, believing it to still be occupied by the Allied powers of the Second World War. While some Reichsbürger members are considered harmless eccentrics, others have been put on trial for allegedly plotting coups in Germany, such as the businessman Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss of Greiz. As part of their rejection of Germany's post-war constitution, some wish for the return of 19th century-style rule under a Kaiser and print their own money and identity documents. Mr Fitzek founded Kingdom of Germany, which has its own alternative currency, in 2012. Video footage of his 'coronation' has been posted on YouTube, where he is seen wielding a sword and wearing a crimson ermine cloak. During Monday's raids, Mr Fitzek was arrested at his home in Halsbrücke, Saxony, while other members' houses were raided in several west German states. Mr Fitzek faces numerous charges including illicit financial transactions and illicit use of insurance, the Bild newspaper reported. He has previously been prosecuted for illegal bank transactions and driving without a licence, and once received an eight-month prison sentence for intentional bodily harm. Three senior members who were also arrested in Tuesday's raids have been named only as Benjamin M, Martin S and Mathias B. German officials say Kingdom of Germany has around 6,000 members, making it the largest single group within the Reichsbürger movement. Its websites and social media platforms have now been banned in Germany. Despite the eccentric nature of its leader, police union chief Rainer Wendt welcomed the arrests and said there was nothing funny about the group. 'This was long overdue. This organisation has been up to its evil deeds for more than 10 years. These are not harmless lunatics, but dangerous people,' he told Bild. 'Reichsbürgers are against the system, they are against our constitutional order. They don't abide by our laws, including our gun laws.' As he banned the group on Tuesday, Mr Dobrindt said: 'The members of this association have created a 'counter-state' and criminal economic structures. 'In this way, they undermine the rule of law and the Federal Republic's monopoly on legitimate use of force. At the same time, they use anti-Semitic conspiracy narratives to back up their supposed claim to authority.' In a parallel legal process, Reichsbürger figurehead Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss is on trial in Frankfurt accused of treason and plotting a coup against the former government led by Olaf Scholz. He and his co-conspirators allegedly planned to storm the national parliament in Berlin with an armed group to arrest MPs, on what they referred to as 'Day X'. An indictment read out in court last year suggested that the group viewed the death of Queen Elizabeth II as the sign that it was time to launch the coup.
Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Self-styled ‘King of Germany' arrested as far-right group banned
A former karate teacher and chef who proclaimed himself King of Germany has been arrested and his group, the 'Kingdom of Germany', outlawed for trying to set up a separate state with its own bank, health insurance service, police force, court system and currency. Peter Fitzek, 59, ran the largest group within Germany's far-right Reich Citizens scene which refuses to recognise the postwar republic and strives to restore the nation to its prewar borders. Video footage of his 'coronation' shows him dressed in a red cloak lined with white fur declaring the aim to give Germany 'a homeland in true freedom'. He and three other men were arrested on Tuesday when 800 police raided properties linked to the Kingdom of Germany in seven states from
