“Reich Citizen” trial for Prince Reuss begins in Stuttgart – News


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The first of three trials against the “Reichsbürger” group begins in Stuttgart. Nine people from the “military wing” are on trial.

The first trial against the so-called “Reichsbürger scene” begins in Stuttgart. The focus is on the group around Henry XIII. Prince Reuss. Together with other conspirators, he had planned an armed coup against the German government. According to the prosecution, they knowingly risked deaths.

Legend:

The alleged ringleaders, including Reuss (pictured), will be charged in Frankfurt on May 21st. The remaining alleged members will be on trial in Munich from June 18th.

Reuters/DPA/BORIS ROESSLER (07.12.2022)

The court trials are likely to be among the largest terror trials that have ever taken place in Germany. That is why the responsible Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has divided the proceedings against the group into three individual trials. The trial that started today is against the group’s “military arm”. There are nine defendants. A total of 26 suspected conspirators in the Reich Citizen Network around Prince Reuss have been charged.

The nine alleged “Reich citizens” on trial today are accused of membership in a terrorist organization and the so-called “preparation of a treasonous enterprise”. One of the defendants is also on trial for attempted murder. This person shot at police officers with an automatic rifle when police arrived for questioning last year.

Possible action by the defense

The conspirators hoped for support from the so-called “Alliance,” a mix of terrestrial and extraterrestrial forces. This is a power in the sense of a conspiracy that wants to establish a new statehood worldwide. The group around Prinz Reuss wanted to contact this “alliance”.

However, the military wing would only have become active if the “Alliance” had given the signal for a coup. This is what the investigative journalist from German broadcaster WDR, Katja Riedel, explains. The defendant’s defense will probably argue that there was never a coup because this “alliance” does not exist at all.

Tasks of the “military arm”


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The group’s “military arm” would have been responsible for securing power after the planned coup. They should have carried out the seizure of power by force of arms. According to the indictment, work has already begun to set up and equip a Germany-wide system of more than 280 military-organized homeland security companies.

The association of these homeland security companies should have taken to the streets and fought the forces of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The “military arm” would have taken care of logistics, among other things. For example, they had already procured cars and weapons. Or they had plans regarding logistics in terms of transport or tasks after the planned takeover of power. The defendants include former Bundeswehr special forces who have relevant military know-how.

The group has been noticed by various constitutional protection authorities in Germany since spring 2022. Then there was one of the largest raids ever in Germany. 3,000 police officers were involved. Dozens of members were arrested in late 2022.

Investigators searched homes and business premises nationwide. The terrorist organization includes, among others, the ominous Prince Reuss, a former AfD federal deputy, doctors, lawyers, soldiers and police officers. Reuss should have acted as the head of a new form of government.

Delayed start of trial

Because of the large crowds in front of the courthouse, the proceedings started more than an hour later than planned. Negotiations are expected to continue into next year.

What belief does the “Reichsbürger” group stand for?


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For the “Reich citizens” the German Reich continues to exist. This existed from 1871 to 1945. This is where they get their name from. The Federal Republic of Germany and its laws do not recognize them. Jan Rathje explains what beliefs the group stands for. He has been researching the Reich Citizens’ Movement for ten years.

“The group brings together various currents from the sovereignist milieu. Ultimately, they are brought together by the belief that the state in which they live is the vehicle of a malicious conspiracy. The ultimate goal of this is to wipe out their own group, in most cases the German people. They strive for a sovereign Germany, or to declare themselves sovereign. So a resovereignization of a supposedly missing sovereignty. The Reuss group made a very strong reference to a historical German Empire, especially the Empire.

The Reich ideology is fundamentally aimed at acts of violence as a final consequence, precisely because they see their existence threatened. The Reuss group shows how radicalized and professionalized this milieu has become, says Rathje. “On the one hand, the group has accumulated a lot of resources in terms of weapons, ammunition and money. What is particularly worrying, however, is that they have been actively recruiting. “They primarily referred to professional circles such as police officers and soldiers, right up to former KSK, i.e. special forces commando soldiers in the elite unit of the German Bundeswehr.”

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