In Stuttgart, nine suspected “Reich citizens” from the Reuss group have to answer in court. At the start of the trial, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office explained the extent to which individual, militarily organized groups had been established.
The trial against nine defendants from the alleged terrorist group around Henry XIII took place before the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court under massive security precautions. Prince Reuss started. The federal prosecutor’s office accuses the defendants, who are said to have belonged to the group’s “military wing,” of being members of a terrorist organization and of having prepared a treasonous operation. Some are also charged with illegal possession of weapons and one is also charged with attempted murder.
As the Federal Prosecutor’s Office explained at the start of the trial, the development of the organized associations – so-called homeland security copanies – is said to have been well advanced in some cases. In two cases, those responsible could have already taken action themselves.
Recruiter appointed
Within “Company 221,” which was supposed to cover the areas of Tübingen and Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg, those responsible for recruiting additional personnel had already been appointed, according to the indictment read out. The company that was supposed to be responsible for Jena and the Saale-Holzland and Saale-Orla districts was also able to take action itself.
In addition, a variety of actions have been registered to set up additional homeland security companies, said the representative of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. According to the indictment, the companies were supposed to carry out political “cleansing operations” in their area of responsibility following a potential seizure of power by the group.
As was known in advance from the investigation files, in the case of “Company 221”, police officers had come across extensive organizational charts, lists of participants and lists of skills and weapon knowledge during searches. The investigations also led, among other things, directly to a Bundeswehr soldier from the Special Forces Command (KSK) in Calw.
Staff Sergeant Andreas M. was a soldier there who, in addition to his Bundeswehr work, was apparently also working on setting up private homeland security companies.
Defense attorney fails with demand for trial suspension
At the start of the trial in Stuttgart, several defense lawyers criticized the division of the proceedings across three higher regional courts. According to a lawyer, effective criminal defense is not possible because the findings in one trial are difficult to incorporate into the others. The division into three courts is not practical. A defense attorney said a merger would be in the interest of comprehensive investigation. There is a risk that witnesses in the three different trials will give different statements.
The defense lawyers had therefore called for a suspension of the Stuttgart trial. However, the presiding judge Joachim Holzhausen rejected the application.
Two defendants want to testify
In total there are 27 defendants in the “Reichsbürger” trial series. Each of them must be personally proven guilty. This would overwhelm a single court due to the scale of the proceedings – which is why the trials should take place in three courts in parallel. Nine defendants are now on trial in Stuttgart who are said to be members of the group’s “military arm”.
Two of them announced that they would like to comment on the allegations made by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. They said they were prepared to provide information about the person and the matter. Another defendant announced that he wanted to provide personal information but not the matter. The remaining six defendants initially do not want to provide any information at all. It is not yet clear when the two defendants will testify. The Stuttgart Higher Regional Court has scheduled hearing dates until January 2025. If the defendants are convicted, they face long prison sentences.
The further trials in Frankfurt am Main and Munich begin on May 21st and June 18th respectively. The suspected ringleaders – including Reuss – have been charged in Frankfurt.