extremism
Lauterbach on the process: “Confidence in the rule of law strengthened”
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) was apparently supposed to be kidnapped – now the trial against five suspects begins before the Koblenz Higher Regional Court. photo
©Oliver Berg/dpa
A power failure, a kidnapping and the dismissal of the federal government: the alleged plans sound as frightening as they are absurd. Now the trial of a group called “United Patriots” begins.
Before the start of a trial against suspected members of a terrorist group, who are said to have planned the kidnapping of Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, the SPD politician thanked the officers involved in their arrest.
“Proceedings and history have strengthened my confidence in our rule of law. I am very grateful to the officials who were involved in the arrest and to my bodyguards who are looking after me. They are risking their lives for us,” Lauterbach told the editorial network Germany (RND).
Starting today, the Koblenz Higher Regional Court will be hearing against five defendants. According to the indictment, the “United Patriots” group, which investigators assign to the “Reichsbürger” milieu, wanted to use violence to trigger civil war-like conditions in Germany. They are said to have planned a prolonged power outage, the kidnapping of Lauterbach and the dismissal of the government.
The alleged perpetrators overestimated their options, Lauterbach told the RND. “In my work, I don’t let these incidents bother me. What worries me, however, is that such groups can form at any time and also have access to weapons.”