Latest news with #Reichsbuerger
eNCA
13-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Police raid conspiracy theorist group 'Kingdom of Germany'
German authorities on Tuesday banned an extremist group called the "Kingdom of Germany", raided multiple locations nationwide and arrested four of its leading members. 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. About 800 security forces searched properties in seven states linked to the group, known in German as "Koenigreich Deutschland". The interior ministry said that 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". 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. Dobrindt said "no major weapons have been seized so far", but he insisted that the members of the group are not "harmless nostalgics". 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 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. Another high-profile case saw a group of Reichsbuerger members charged with plotting to kidnap the then health minister, Karl Lauterbach, in protest at Covid-19 restrictions.
Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Germany bans 'Kingdom of Germany' far-right group and arrests leaders
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt gestures on the day he gives a statement on the ban of the right-wing \"Kingdom of Germany\" organization, in Berlin, Germany, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt gives a statement on the ban of the right-wing \"Kingdom of Germany\" organization, in Berlin, Germany, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt gives a statement on the ban of the right-wing \"Kingdom of Germany\" organization, in Berlin, Germany, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner Police vehicles are seen as police officers search the headquarters of far-right organization \"Kingdom of Germany\" in Halsbruecke near Dresden, Germany May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse Police officers search the headquarters of far-right organization \"Kingdom of Germany\" in Halsbruecke near Dresden, Germany May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse BERLIN - Police arrested four members of a radical group seeking to replace the modern German state, the interior minister and prosecutors said on Tuesday, in the latest operation against a far-right movement flagged as a potential threat to democracy. The raids against the Koenigreich Deutschland, or 'Kingdom of Germany', came after the interior ministry banned the group, which prosecutors said had established shadow institutions for a new state in line with a far-right ideology known as the 'Reichsbuerger' movement. One of the four people arrested was the 'Kingdom's' self-declared sovereign, the prosecutors said. Germany's domestic intelligence service put the broader Reichsbuerger movement under observation in 2016 after one of its members shot dead a policeman during a raid at his home. Scrutiny of the movement, which covers a number of conspiratorial theories questioning the legitimacy of the modern German state, intensified in December 2022 when authorities thwarted advanced plans for an armed coup. Its adherents believe that 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 aim of the decade-old 'Kingdom of Germany' faction, which says it has about 6,000 supporters, is to secede from Germany and establish a counter-state with its own police force and jurisdiction, said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. "We are not talking about a group of harmless nostalgics but about criminal structures and a criminal network," Dobrindt told reporters, adding their criminal economic network was long a focus for German authorities. No weapons were seized, he said. Police acted on four arrest warrants for suspects identified as Mathias B., Peter F., Benjamin M. and Martin S., omitting their surnames in line with German privacy laws. Prosecutors said the four men were suspected ringleaders of the group that had set up "pseudo-state-like structures and institutions", including a bank and insurance system, an authority printing "fictional documents" and its own currency. Peter F. was the group's "supreme sovereign", with oversight and decision-making powers over the group's key areas, prosecutors said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police raid conspiracy theorist group 'Kingdom of Germany'
German authorities on Tuesday banned an extremist group called the "Kingdom of Germany", raided multiple locations nationwide and arrested four of its leading members. 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. Another high-profile case saw a group of Reichsbuerger members charged with plotting to kidnap the then health minister, Karl Lauterbach, in protest at Covid-19 restrictions. bur-smk/fz/gil
Int'l Business Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Police Raid Conspiracy Theorist Group 'Kingdom Of Germany'
German authorities on Tuesday banned an extremist group called the "Kingdom of Germany", raided multiple locations nationwide and arrested four of its leading members. 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. 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. Another high-profile case saw a group of Reichsbuerger members charged with plotting to kidnap the then health minister, Karl Lauterbach, in protest at Covid-19 restrictions. Peter Fitzek, the self-proclaimed head of the 'Kingdom of Germany', in October 2023 AFP
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.
