Latest news with #Reichsbürgers
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Self-proclaimed 'king of Germany' arrested in plot to overthrow government
The self-styled "king" of Germany and three of his senior "subjects" were arrested for attempting to overthrow the state, according to media reports. Peter Fitzek, 59, was taken into police custody during morning raids conducted Tuesday in seven German states, the BBC reported. Fitzek's group, the Reichsbürger, or "citizens of the Reich," has also been banned by the government. Trump Celebrates Conservative Party Win In Germany The group's aim is to establish the Königreich Deutschland, or "Kingdom of Germany." "I have no interest in being part of this fascist and satanic system," Fitzek previously told the news outlet in a 2022 interview. Read On The Fox News App Reichsbürgers reportedly have their own currency, flag and identification cards and want to set up separate banking and health systems. The Reichsbürger undermined "the rule of law," said Alexander Dobrindt, Germany's interior minister, by creating an alternative state and spreading "antisemitic conspiracy narratives to back up their supposed claim to authority," the news report states. Germany's New Leader Looks To Distance Europe From Trump He said the group finances itself through crime. Fitzek, who claims to have thousands of "subjects," denied having violent intentions but also called Germany "destructive and sick." In 2022, dozens of people associated with the Reichsbürger were arrested for plotting to overthrow the German government in Berlin. They were accused of planning a violent coup, which included kidnapping the health minister in an effort to create "civil war conditions" to bring down German democracy, according to the BBC. Once dismissed as eccentric by critics, the group is now seen within Germany as a serious threat as the far right has grown politically over the past decade, the report article source: Self-proclaimed 'king of Germany' arrested in plot to overthrow government
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘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. Credit: Youtube/karmasinghde 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. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany arrests self-declared 'king' and bans his extremist group
A self-declared "king" of Germany and three of his senior "subjects" have been arrested and their group banned for attempting to overthrow the state. Peter Fitzek, 59, was among those arrested in morning raids across seven states on Tuesday, which involved about 800 security personnel. The government banned their group, the Reichsbürger, or "citizens of the Reich", which seeks to establish the Königreich Deutschland, or "Kingdom of Germany". Alexander Dobrindt, German's interior minister, accused the group of attempting to "undermine the rule of law" by creating an alternative state and spreading "antisemitic conspiracy narratives to back up their supposed claim to authority". His ministry announced the dissolution of the group, and accused it financing itself through "economic criminal structures". Fitzek, a former chef and karate instructor, calls himself "king" and identified himself to judges as "Peter the First" in a previous court case. He had himself crowned in 2012 while dressed in ermine robes and brandishing a medieval sword. Since then he has been buying land and property across Germany. Reichsbürgers have their own currency, flag and ID cards, and want to set up separate banking and health systems. Fitzek claims to have thousands of followers - or "subjects". In an interview with the BBC in 2022 he denied having any violent intentions, but also described the German state as "destructive and sick". "I have no interest in being part of this fascist and satanic system," he told the BBC's Jenny Hill, when she visited his "kingdom" in eastern Germany. Fitzek has repeatedly clashed with the authorities and refused to abide by German laws, often in what appears to be in a publicity-seeking manner. He has previously been jailed for repeatedly driving without a licence, following a decision to hand his back in a symbolic rejection of the law. At the end of one trial session, Fitzek was seen getting into his car in front of the court and driving off. Fitzek is one of around 25,000 Reichsbürger in Germany. Numbers have been growing over the last few years. Many are right-wing extremists who peddle racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories. They refuse to recognise the authority of security forces and many possess illegal arms, which has led to shoot-outs with police. Officials say that around 2,500 are potentially violent and that 1,350 are classed as right-wing extremists. In 2022 dozens of people were arrested, many of them Reichsbürger, for plotting to overthrow the German government in Berlin. They were accused of planning a violent coup, which included kidnapping the health minister, to create "civil war conditions" to bring down German democracy. In the past, Reichsbürger were often dismissed as eccentric cranks because of their outlandish ideas. But as the far right has grown in strength politically in Germany over the last decade, officials now see them as a serious threat. The federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe said Fitzek was arrested along with three other suspected ringleaders of the group, which it classified as a criminal organisation. As the "so-called supreme sovereign", Fitzek had "control and decision-making power in all key areas", the 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. Germany arrests 25 accused of plotting coup
