Far-right plot to overthrow German govt and install 'Prince Heinrich' busted as 3,000 cops launch dawn raids
7 December 2022, 08:28 | Updated: 7 December 2022, 12:31
An alleged far-right plot to overthrow the German government has been busted after a massive police raid resulted in 25 arrests.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Reports in the country said a group of far-right and former military servicemen had planned to storm the parliament in Berlin and take power in a violent coup.
They included a former far-right member of the Bundestag, the lower chamber of Parliament.
Central to the plans was "Heinrich XIII", a 71-year-old man styled as a prince, it has been claimed. Plotters intended to install him as leader and the ex-Bundestag member as justice minister, it was claimed.
Reports say he is a minor noble whose family, the House of Reuss, had distanced itself from. A spokesperson for the family had said earlier this year he is an "at times confused" man who had been duped by conspiracy theories.
The police raid involved 3,000 officers raiding 130 properties with operations taking place throughout seven German states early on Wednesday. Two people were also arrested in Austria and Italy.
Two suspected ringleaders were among those arrested, as were members of the Reichsburger movement, which has worried the security services over their violence.
It rejects the modern German state and wants to replace it with the old German Empire, which was formed in 1871 and collapsed at the end of the First World War.
The name means Citizens of the Reich.
The alleged plotters in this case had drawn up plans to rule the country, believing they could only achieve their coup through "military means and violence against state representatives", including through killings, prosecutors said.
Read more: Husband of former British tennis no.1 Anne Keothavong 'raped woman and pinned her down to the bed'
There is no known name for the overall group of alleged plotters in this case, authorities said.
Authorities accuse the suspects of preparing to carry out actions based on their ideology since the end of November 2021 at the latest.
They are set to be questioned today.
