13-05-2025
‘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.
