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Nine members of a group alleged to have plotted to overthrow the German government go on trial in Frankfurt on Tuesday, in a case that has focused attention on the dangers posed to German democracy by the extreme right.
Prosecutors say the group’s ringleader is Heinrich XIII. Prinz Reuß, a real estate developer and scion of an ancient aristocratic family. The group also includes a former MP from the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), ex-judge Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.
The nine are accused of “preparing a highly treasonous enterprise”. The indictment says they were preparing for a “Day X” when they would storm the Reichstag building in Berlin, home to Germany’s parliament, arrest MPs and bring down the country’s democratic system.
“The members [of the group] were linked by their complete rejection of state institutions and the democratic order,” the indictment says. They face 10 to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
The case, being heard under tight security in an annex of Frankfurt’s higher regional court, has highlighted the prevalence of wild conspiracy theories and QAnon-style narratives on the far-right of German politics.
It has also shone a spotlight on the Reichsbürger, a shadowy extremist movement whose members believe the German Reich of 1871-1945 still exists and do not recognise the laws and institutions of postwar Germany. They often issue their own passports and stamps and refuse to pay fines issued by local authorities.
Long dismissed by ordinary Germans as a bunch of harmless cranks, the Reichsbürger are said to number about 23,000 members and, according to Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, exhibit a “high affinity” for weapons.
Prosecutors say the alleged conspirators were convinced that Germany was run by a deep state orchestrating events from behind the scenes. They also thought that the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II might have been a secret “signal” to act.
The plotters were arrested in a series of raids in December 2022. In a sign of the size and complexity of the case, different trials are being held in Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Munich.
The trial of an alleged military wing of the “Reuß Group” began in Stuttgart in late April, while proceedings against less prominent alleged members will start in Munich on June 18.
The nine on trial in Stuttgart include several former senior officers in the German armed forces, and one who belonged to an elite unit.
One of the group is accused of having shot and wounded police carrying out a search of his apartment in March 2023 and faces an additional charge of attempted murder.
The plotters had, according to prosecutors, already decided on roles in the government they planned to set up after the coup, with Prinz Reuß tapped to serve as head of state and Malsack-Winkemann to run the justice ministry.
Prosecutors say the Reuß group had about €500,000 at its disposal as well as a huge arsenal, including 380 firearms, 350 bladed weapons and 148,000 rounds of ammunition. They said the accused were aware of the fact “that the planned seizure of power would cause deaths”.
The indictment said they had also compiled lists of enemies, including officials on the federal, regional and municipal levels.
The trial in Frankfurt promises to be one of the largest and most complex in Germany’s postwar history. The indictment runs to 617 pages while there are five judges and two substitutes, 25 defence lawyers and 260 witnesses.