extremism
Second terror trial involving the Reuss group begins
Heinrich XIII. Prince Reuss is accused as a suspected ringleader. Photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, a group of “Reich Citizens” planned the violent coup. The alleged ringleaders, among others, are now on trial in Frankfurt.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses the defendants of being members of a terrorist organization or of supporting it. Among them are ex-Bundeswehr soldiers and a former AfD member of the Bundestag.
The trial is the second of three mammoth trials against the group of “Reich Citizens”: the trial against suspected representatives of the military wing began in Stuttgart at the end of April. The remaining suspected members of the group will be on trial in Munich from June 18th. The suspected conspirators were exposed during a large-scale anti-terror raid in December 2022.
Overthrow planned on “Day X”.
According to the indictment, starting in August 2021, the group planned and prepared for a coup on “Day X.” Specifically, an armed group should have broken into the Reichstag building in Berlin to arrest members of the Bundestag and thus bring about the overthrow of the system. The plans deliberately took deaths into account. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, around 500,000 euros and a massive arsenal of weapons were available for the plans.
The accusation is partly based on the preparation of a treasonous enterprise. Concrete preparations such as the recruitment of military personnel had taken place. The federal prosecutor’s office said that the defendants had a deep rejection of state institutions and the free democratic basic order: “They followed a conglomerate of conspiracy myths.”
Developed own state order
The alleged ringleaders, Reuss and Rüdiger von Pescatore, who is said to have headed the group’s military arm, are on trial in Frankfurt. Structures for our own state order were said to have been drawn up in basic terms, and Reuss should have acted as head of state. The former Berlin judge and former AfD member of the Bundestag Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, who is also one of the Frankfurt defendants, should have been responsible for the justice department. The so-called Reichsbürger in Germany claim that the German Empire (1871-1945) continues to exist. The Federal Republic and its laws do not recognize them.
The strictest security precautions apply to the exception process. A lightweight metal hall with an area of around 1,300 square meters was built on the outskirts of Frankfurt. In addition to the 9 defendants, 5 judges, 2 additional judges and 25 defense lawyers will be present in the trial. Around 260 witnesses should therefore be called. According to the court, the documents relating to the trial are stored in 801 binders.
Instead of the original ten defendants, nine alleged “Reich citizens” appear before the judges in Frankfurt. Norbert G. died in a clinic in March, a spokeswoman for the Higher Regional Court said. According to the court, the others face up to ten years in prison if they are found guilty of one count. In the event of multiple guilty verdicts and a total sentence, the maximum sentence would be 15 years in prison. The accused are presumed innocent until a verdict is reached.