extremism
Third terror trial against “Reich Citizens” group Reuß
The so-called Reich Citizens around Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss claim that the German Reich (1871-1945) continues to exist. Photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
The “Reich Citizens” group around Prince Reuss is said to have planned a violent coup. The alleged members are on trial in Frankfurt and Stuttgart – and now also in Munich.
The third nationwide mammoth trial against alleged “Reich citizens” of the group around Prince Heinrich XIII begins today before the Munich Higher Regional Court (OLG). Reuss. This is the group that became known after a large-scale anti-terror raid in several federal states and abroad shortly after St. Nicholas Day 2022.
The current total of 26 accused are said to have planned a violent overthrow of the federal government – according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, they knowingly accepted the risk of deaths. Reuss was supposed to act as head of a new form of government. Eight alleged members of the group are to be tried in Munich.
Reuss and the alleged ringleaders are on trial in Frankfurt. In Stuttgart, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office has charged alleged members of the group’s “military arm”. Both trials there began a few weeks ago.
Terrorist organization and treasonous enterprise
Starting today, the Munich Higher Regional Court will hear the remaining alleged members of the group, including several founding members. The splitting of the case into several proceedings, particularly due to the large number of defendants, presents major challenges to those involved in the trial.
The eight defendants in Munich are accused of membership in – and in some cases of founding – a terrorist organization and of preparing a so-called treasonous enterprise. Four men must also answer for preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state, and one also for violating the weapons law. They all face long prison sentences.
Several of the defendants in Munich are said to have belonged to the association’s so-called “council” – similar to a cabinet of a legitimate government – or to the leadership staff of the “military arm”. The founding meeting is said to have taken place at the home of one of the accused founding members. According to the indictment, several of the defendants were involved early on in the planning for a violent intrusion into the Bundestag or were supposed to take part in it themselves and were equipped for this purpose.
55 dates for main hearing
The presiding judge in Munich is Dagmar Illini. The court has initially set a total of 55 dates for the main hearing, currently until the end of January 2025.
All defendants are accused of wanting to violently eliminate the existing state order in Germany by founding the terrorist organization and replacing it with their own form of government, the basic principles of which had already been worked out.
The plan was to enter the Reichstag building in Berlin with an armed group in order to arrest members of the Bundestag and thus bring about the overthrow of the system. Among the 26 accused are ex-military personnel and a former member of the Bundestag.
The so-called Reich Citizens in Germany claim that the German Reich (1871-1945) still exists. They do not recognize the Federal Republic and its laws. All defendants are presumed innocent until a verdict is reached.