After raid: Expert warns of Reich citizens in the police, armed forces and judiciary

After the raid in the Reichsbourgeois milieu and the arrest of several people on Wednesday, experts in Germany warn against underestimating the radicalization in the scene. MIRO DITTRICH, RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM EXPERT AT THE CENTER FOR MONITORING, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY (CEMAS): “For a very long time, these citizens of the Reich were only perceived as crazy cranks and their worldview was not taken seriously. We have seen again and again that – for example with clearance titles, it violent clashes came in. I hope that this new plan, which has now been uncovered on a large scale, has made it clear to the security authorities what a threat emanates from these Reich citizens, and that these people can no longer continue to grow unhindered, but that here action is actually being taken now.” The number of people from the armed forces, police and judiciary who are apparently receptive to the ideas of the Reich citizens is particularly worrying, said Dittrich. “Of course we are experiencing a very frustrating experience in the Reich citizen scene right now. That means for a while (in) the pandemic they thought that there would be a big uprising, that the majority of Germans would somehow support them and that this would be done peacefully system. This experience of frustration that things aren’t going that way now is a very dangerous one. Because now the people who actually believe these stories, this de-radicalized part, realizes that they can only enforce their world changes through violence.” According to the federal prosecutor, the network, which was smashed on Wednesday, had planned a coup in Germany and an armed attack on the Bundestag. The investigators also found lists of names of celebrities and politicians, including Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert and CDU politician Armin Laschet. During the raid, 25 people were arrested as members or supporters of an alleged terrorist organization. Of the 25 suspects, 19 are currently in custody.