18.9 C
Auckland
Friday, November 22, 2024

Popular Now

Germany puts failed ‘coup’ leaders on trial

German coup news
Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss of Thuringia. Image – @maltsev_trade, X.

Alleged organizers of “Reich Citizens” face up to 15 years behind bars for the 2022 plot
Germany puts failed ‘coup’ leaders on trial.

A hereditary aristocrat, a former lawmaker and a retired general went to court in Frankfurt on Tuesday as alleged ringleaders of the supposed “Reich Citizens” plot to overthrow the German government.

German police detained two dozen suspects in December 2022, alleging they had amassed money and weapons to overthrow the constitutional order and restore the monarchy established in 1871.

Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss of Thuringia, now 72, was allegedly to be installed as the new emperor. He is also accused of trying to make contact with Russia via his “partner,” named only as Vitalia B. The Russian embassy in Berlin has denied having any contacts with the plotters.

Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a judge and a former MP for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, allegedly helped the group plan an armed attack on the Bundestag. The military wing of the plot was led by the 70-year-old Ruediger von Pescatore, a disgraced former Bundeswehr general.

The 617-page indictment claims that the “Reich Citizens” believe that the current Federal Republic of Germany is an “occupation” government and that the German Empire was never actually dissolved in November 1918, with the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

According to the prosecutors, the plotters came together in November 2021, a month after the parliamentary elections won by the ‘Traffic Light coalition’ of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The suspects allegedly tried to recruit supporters in the police and the military to seize power by force and declare martial law.

German authorities got wind of the alleged plot in August 2022 and launched dozens of raids across the country in December, with over 3,000 police involved.

The first trial related to the plot began in Stuttgart last month, featuring nine defendants charged with buying weapons and recruiting fighters for the alleged coup. Two defendants also face gun violation charges, while another has been accused of attempted murder and resisting arrest. Eight more defendants are scheduled to be tried in Munich in June.

The Frankfurt trial is considered the main event, however, since it features the nine alleged ringleaders of the plot. In addition to Prince Heinrich, Malzak-Winkemann and Pescatore, the defendants include former Hannover police officer Michael Fritsch; Maximilian Eder and Peter W. formerly of the Special Forces Commando (KSK); Hans-Joachim H. who allegedly funded the coup to the tune of €160,000 ($174,000); “anti-vaxx activist” Johann F.-J.; and the aforementioned Vitalia B.

Prosecutors are asking for up to 15 years in prison for some of the defendants.

The ruling coalition has sought to link “Reich Citizens” with the AfD, but the party has disavowed the movement. According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bpb), the “Reich Citizens” range from people who seek to restore the monarchy of 1871 to people who deny the Holocaust and believe Adolf Hitler survived the Second World War and fled to Antarctica.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has estimated the number of “Reich Citizens” to be as high as 23,000.

Promoted Content

Source:RT News

No login required to comment. Name, email and web site fields are optional. Please keep comments respectful, civil and constructive. Moderation times can vary from a few minutes to a few hours. Comments may also be scanned periodically by Artificial Intelligence to eliminate trolls and spam.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Germany is doomed.
    And therefore Europe.
    Just like world terrorist USA planned it.
    https://www.roi-nj.com/2024/05/06/industry/ipps-latest-deal-agreement-to-market-basf-plants-in-germany/
    Like in Godzone, the German sheeple are also too meek and dumb to realize what the elite is doing to them. But alas, they are also-so far- too well fed to revolt, pacified with socialist breadcrumbs, promises, smokescreens, sport and media side-shows.
    On top of that, surveillance and police state keep the cattle controlled in the paddock.
    If -not when- that pendulum swings back and the awakening begins on a grand scale, here as there, politricking will become lethal. Confidence and trust are already damaged to a degree that no pollster can realize, let alone the psychopaths in power.
    What will happen is what societies have experienced many times before, but what they also have been brainwashed to un-learn by corrupt scholars, universities and ‘history’ writers.
    Confidence can and will turn on a heel. And then hear these half-wits cry “Who could foresee that revolution?!?”
    In Europe the people have experienced sociopolitical chaos many times.
    As for Kiwis: Our Kindergarten will come to an end.
    You ain’t seen nothing yet!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest

Trending

Sport

Daily Life

Opinion

Wellington
scattered clouds
15.8 ° C
17.8 °
15.8 °
63 %
10.3kmh
40 %
Fri
16 °
Sat
14 °
Sun
16 °
Mon
17 °
Tue
18 °