Shots in Boxberg
Appeal filed after the “Reichsbürger” process
This ballistic protective shield was used during an apartment search in Boxberg. photo
© Christoph Schmidt/dpa
In April 2022, he shot at police officers with a rapid-fire rifle, seriously injuring one officer – now the case of a suspected “Reich citizen” is to be brought before the Federal Court of Justice.
After a suspected “Reich citizen” shot at a special operations team in Baden Boxberg, the Federal Court of Justice will deal with the long prison sentence against the man. According to information from the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court (OLG) on Wednesday, an appeal was lodged against the verdict by both the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the defense. The 55-year-old was sentenced by the Higher Regional Court in mid-November to 14 years and six months in prison for attempted murder in several cases. The SWR first reported on the revision.
According to the court’s conviction and his own statement, the man shot police officers with an automatic rifle in April 2022 in the Boxberg community in the Main-Tauber district. The emergency services wanted to search the man’s house for a weapon for which he did not have a permit. During the operation, one of the officers was seriously injured by shots in the legs. In the house, investigators found a walk-in weapons cache with rifles and submachine guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition and accessories.
The federal prosecutor’s office had demanded a life sentence for attempted murder in several cases. The man’s two lawyers clearly contradicted this. They argued that there were no murder criteria and therefore demanded an acquittal for their client. In his final word he apologized for his behavior.
“Reich citizens” and so-called self-administrators do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany as a state. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimates that the scene has around 23,000 followers – and the trend is rising. More than five percent – around 1,250 people – are right-wing extremists. Around 2,300 “Reich citizens” and “self-administrators” are considered violence-oriented.