Status: 12/07/2022 5:52 p.m
After the raid on a suspected Reich Citizens terror network, politicians are shocked. Federal President Steinmeier calls for more commitment to democracy. The Chancellor’s spokesman sees “extremely dangerous” activities.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has shown himself “deeply concerned” about the alleged coup plans of the so-called Reich citizens, which became known in connection with a major raid against the group.
If it is confirmed that terrorist offenses are being prepared, “then action must also be taken, then criminal law must also set limits,” Steinmeier warned in an interview with the MDR. A “liberal democracy” like in Germany “must also be a defensive one”. And it also depends on the resistance from society, emphasized Steinmeier:
Democracy’s ability to defend itself is also demonstrated by the fact that those who have different opinions, who want a liberal, democratic, open Germany, speak out louder than is occasionally the case.
Against everything “that connects us in Germany”
The spokesman for the federal government, Steffen Hebestreit, classified the alleged efforts of the Reich Citizens Network as “extremely dangerous”: “We are talking about an association that, according to what we know so far, has planned the joint elimination of our democratic constitutional state.”
Hebestreit referred to Chancellor Scholz’s warning in his government statement on taking office. At that time, Scholz had rated right-wing extremism as “the greatest threat to our democracy”. The suspected plans uncovered by the raid show “how true this assessment is,” Hebestreit said. The group turned against everything “that unites us in Germany”: “rule of law, freedom, equality, protection of minorities.”
“… that there was also a so-called military arm, consisting of former Bundeswehr soldiers,” Frank Brautigam, ARD legal expert
Tagesschau 3:00 p.m., 7.12.2022
Faeser wants to keep “hard pace”.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had previously announced continued crackdown on the Reichsbürger scene: “Militant Reichsbürger share hatred of democracy, of our state and of people who stand up for our community.” The security authorities took action against such efforts with all the consistency of the rule of law, explained Faeser and added: “We will continue this tough approach.”
The investigations surrounding the major raid “looked into the abyss of a terrorist threat from the Reich citizen milieu,” Faeser continued. The suspected terrorist organization was “driven by violent fantasies of overthrow and conspiracy ideologies,” stressed the SPD politician. However, only the further investigations would show how far the coup plans had already progressed.
The minister praised the more than 3,000 police officers who were involved in the raids. “Our rule of law is strong,” explained Faeser. “We know how to defend ourselves with all severity against the enemies of democracy.”
Do not dismiss violent fantasies as slapstick
The SPD parliamentary secretary Katja Mast also called for the defense of democratic values. “Our democracy was, is and will remain defensive. There are forces that work every day to undermine our democracy. And our constitutional state must and can defend itself against this,” said the politician.
The violent fantasies of the Reich citizen scene should not be dismissed as slapstick or crazy, added the SPD faction deputy Dirk Wiese to the portal t-online. He warned against underestimating those involved, who would not shy away from violence.
25 arrests in the course of a large-scale raid on the Reichsbürger scene
Kolja Schwartz, SWR, daily news at 2:00 p.m., December 7th, 2022
Defense committee to deal with Reich citizens
The chairwoman of the defense committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, announced to the “Rheinische Post” that her committee would deal with the topic of the Reich citizen scene. She had this point “immediately” put on the agenda of the defense committee, said the FDP politician and emphasized:
We’re going to dry out this brown soup.
In the civil service, a tougher pace should now be driven, demanded FDP parliamentary group leader Konstantin Kuhle. “Particularly problematic is the group’s renewed connection to the Bundeswehr and the police. Anyone who rejects or even wants to eliminate state order in Germany cannot be a civil servant. Public service law must be tightened up quickly here,” Kuhle wrote on Twitter.
He warned that the “extreme right-wing scene is networking with each other, hoarding weapons and dreaming of a ‘coup'” and went on to write: “Our well-fortified democracy will stand against this disgusting brown soup!”
Green politicians pointed out the great potential for danger from right-wing extremist terror. Group leader Katharina Dröge thanked the people in the security authorities on Twitter who “work every day to protect our democracy”. The co-leader of the Greens, Britta Haßelmann, warned: “We have to take the dangers of right-wing extremism seriously.”
The two chairmen of the AfD, Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel, also opposed the alleged coup plans of the Reichsbürger members. “We condemn such efforts and reject them emphatically,” said the two party leaders. Neither Chrupalla nor Weidel was aware that the former AfD member of the Bundestag, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, is said to have belonged to the Reichsbürger scene and was one of the suspects in the course of the major raid.
Amnesty International: Authorities must look more closely into their own ranks
From the point of view of the human rights organization Amnesty International, the uncovered efforts of the Reichsbürger group should also give state authorities an opportunity to take stronger action against misanthropic attitudes in their own ranks. “Today’s arrests show the danger of racist, anti-Semitic and other misanthropic ideologies,” said Amnesty expert Beate Streicher, emphasizing that active and former members of the security forces were also among the suspects. This is “particularly worrying”.
According to human rights, the German state is obliged to protect all people from racist, anti-Semitic and other inhuman violence. “This duty to protect is catastrophically missed when current and former government officials who are trained in handling weapons try to put misanthropic ideologies into practice,” warned Streicher.
Police union calls for more recognition for officers
The police union (GdP) meanwhile called for more support for emergency services. Police successes such as the large-scale raid against the citizens of the Reich should not “conceal many grievances within the police force,” explained GdP boss Jochen Kopelke.
Among other things, he addressed the lack of staff. “And our colleagues feel a rapidly increasing lack of respect for what they do.” Accesses like this are associated with great danger for the emergency services and an enormous amount of investigative and planning effort.
“Many people can’t imagine what it’s like to open a door and not know if there’s a sudden shot, if there’s a booby trap lurking or, or, or,” said the union boss.
In the nationwide raid early in the morning, 25 suspected members and supporters of a terrorist organization were arrested. They are said to have planned an overthrow of the political system.