Terror trial
Accused “Reich citizen” explains himself publicly for the first time
Henry XIII Prince Reuss is a German real estate entrepreneur and is considered one of the most important players in the “Reichsbürger” movement. photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
In a few weeks, a group of so-called Reich citizens around the entrepreneur Heinrich XIII. Prince Reuss will be brought to trial in Frankfurt. One of them now expresses himself in “Stern”.
The written answers from lawyer Ilka Lang-Seifert to “Stern” are available to the dpa verbatim. According to the magazine, the lawyer provided them with the note: “The answers are authorized by my client and completely represent his point of view.”
Maximilian E. is one of nine defendants who are scheduled to appear before the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main from May 21st. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses them of being members of a terrorist organization or of having supported it. According to investigators, the aim was to forcibly eliminate the state order in Germany and replace it with its own form of government that had already been fundamentally developed.
“This was a general exploration by Mr E”
The prosecution accuses Maximilian E. of having scouted out the German Bundestag building in 2021 as a founding member of the group with two other accused and the former AfD MP Birgit Malsack-Winkemann. The group planned to “invade the Reichstag building in Berlin with an armed group in order to arrest members of the German Bundestag and thus bring about the overthrow of the system,” according to a statement from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
Maximilian E. explained through his lawyer in response to questions from “Stern” about the inspection on August 1, 2021: “This was a general exploration by Mr. E. of an option that was originally considered, of possibly confronting parliamentarians or members of the government.” should be identified in connection with an alleged pedophile ring. The lawyer also confirmed to the magazine: “Mr. E. was fundamentally and generally looking for perpetrators and cover-ups in matters of satanic, ritual pedophilia (SRP) from all areas of society, including from politics to the highest circles.”
Search for alleged child molesters
Before his arrest, E. also publicly commented on alleged pedophile networks, which also play a role in the QAnon conspiracy ideology. E. said in a video from May 2022: “So there are politicians who at the weekend and possibly also during the week sometimes have nothing else to do than carry out such satanic rituals on small children or young women. So they are being held , in underground passages, catacombs.” He added: “This is really a reality that I can prove.”
According to “Stern”, two Swiss brothers are said to have been commissioned by the Reuss Group to search for alleged child molester rings. The two Swiss are also said to have had the task of procuring weapons. The Reuss Group is said to have paid them at least 138,710 euros. Maximilian E.’s lawyer explained to the magazine: “It is true that Mr. E. provided the R. brothers with a clearly six-figure sum from his own and borrowed funds.”
When asked by the dpa, the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that it had “opened criminal proceedings against two people with Swiss citizenship and residence in the canton of St. Gallen.” The investigation is underway on suspicion of supporting or participating in a terrorist organization.
“Interim government needed”
According to the lawyer, the suspicion of an alleged pedophile ring in politics played an important role for the Reuss group. This therefore assumed that revelations would lead to an end to the government: “If it turns out to be true that politicians at the highest levels are involved in SRP,” it cannot be ruled out that a government reshuffle, new elections and “until then an interim government would be necessary,” she told the magazine. The prosecution accuses Maximilian E. of having drafted a declaration to dismiss the federal government in January 2022.
In December 2022 there was a large-scale anti-terror raid against the group in several German federal states and abroad. The accused are said to have had access to a massive arsenal of weapons and knowingly risked deaths in their plans for a coup. The federal prosecutor’s office charged a total of 27 suspects. In addition to the trial in Frankfurt, there will be further main proceedings in Stuttgart and Munich.