extremism
“Reichsbürger” group: raid on suspected supporters
Since the early hours of the morning, police officers have been deployed at several locations in Lower Saxony and at one location in Saxony-Anhalt (symbolic image). Photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
Two women and two men from Lower Saxony are suspected of having helped the alleged putschists from the “Reich Citizens” milieu. Did the investigators find evidence on them?
Investigations are underway against two women and two men aged between 48 and 60. They are accused of membership in a terrorist organisation in one case, of supporting a terrorist organisation in two cases and of recruiting members or supporters in one case.
The suspects were not taken into custody. It was not initially known whether they would comment on the allegations. The searches, including of apartments and vehicles, lasted for several hours and were still ongoing at midday. According to dpa information, they took place in Rinteln on the Weser, Dannenberg (Elbe), Wahrenholz in the Gifhorn district and Allstedt in Saxony-Anhalt. The “Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung” was the first to report on the matter.
“Prince Reuss does not know these people,” the lawyer of the alleged “Reich Citizen” ideologue, Roman von Alvensleben, told the dpa. His client is repeatedly linked to people whose homes are being searched.
The Celle Public Prosecutor’s Office, with its Central Office for Combating Terrorism, has taken over seven cases involving 13 suspects from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in the Reuss group complex. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is handing over cases of “lesser importance” to the states.
Conspirators are said to have planned a violent coup
In three mammoth trials in Stuttgart, Frankfurt am Main and, from June 18, also in Munich, a total of 26 alleged conspirators of the alleged terrorists around the 72-year-old businessman Reuß must answer. They are accused of having planned a violent coup. According to the prosecution, Reuß himself should have acted as head of a new form of government.
Among the accused are a former police officer from the Hanover Police Department who was removed from service, a financial advisor from the Harburg district, a lawyer from Hanover and a doctor from the Peine district. According to the Celle Public Prosecutor’s Office, the four accused in the Celle case are said to have been “in the circle of leading figures” in the group.
The operation was organized by the Lower Saxony Central Office for Combating Terrorism in cooperation with the Lower Saxony State Office of Criminal Investigation. “So far, evidence such as electronic data storage devices, mobile phones and written records have been found and secured, which are now being evaluated,” it said.
Meanwhile raids in five federal states
A week ago (June 4), the Federal Prosecutor’s Office raided three federal states against suspected supporters of the “Reich Citizens” group. A large police force searched seven properties and three plots of land in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, the Karlsruhe authority announced. The accused are accused of supporting a domestic terrorist organization. Among other things, they are suspected of having made rooms available to the “Reich Citizens” group for recruitment events.
The so-called “Reichsbürger” in Germany claim that the German Reich (1871-1945) continues to exist, hence their name. They do not recognize the Federal Republic and its laws.