Suspected plans for a coup and the arrest of two dozen suspects from the Reichsbürger scene caused a stir nationwide at the end of 2022. Now media research sheds light on further details.
A good year after the arrest of a group around Henry XIII. Prinz Reuß sheds light on “Stern” and RTL further details of alleged coup plans from the Reich citizen scene. The report states that three former Bundeswehr soldiers had greater influence than was publicly known.
It is also about the role of former AfD member of the Bundestag Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, who is in prison in Berlin on suspicion of terrorism. Previously unknown: AfD politicians kept in touch with her there, as a spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group confirmed.
“The group leadership is aware of contacts that were of a personal nature and have no connection with the work of the group,” said the spokesman when asked by the German Press Agency. “Stern” and RTL reported that three MPs had a permanent visit permit. When asked by the dpa about the number and motivation of the visits, only MP Jürgen Pohl commented: “After more than a year in custody, wouldn’t you be happy if you were visited by a third party?” he wrote.
Military officers are said to have founded the group
In December 2022, after investigations into the Reichsbürger scene, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office arrested 25 women and men around Heinrich XIII. Prince Reuss was arrested on suspicion of terrorism, including Malsack-Winkemann. Afterwards, other suspects arrived. A few weeks ago, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against him, including for membership and support of a terrorist organization. The accused are said to have planned to overthrow the political system in Germany. They are said to have knowingly accepted deaths.
Details can already be found in communications from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office regarding the indictment. This is what the investigators call Henry XIII. Prince Reuss also called a former Bundeswehr officer a “ringleader”. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, this officer and two other former soldiers are said to have founded the “terrorist organization” at the end of July 2021, before Prince Reuss is said to have joined at the end of October 2021.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office spoke of a military arm and the planned establishment of 286 so-called homeland security units. Individuals are said to have been “already largely ready for use”. Whether the charges will be admitted to the higher regional courts in Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart is currently being examined. In principle, the accused is presumed innocent until a verdict is reached.
Exploration in the Bundestag?
“Stern” and RTL are now describing the suspected connections in more detail, citing investigative files that are not publicly accessible, such as wiretapping protocols and chat histories. There was no official confirmation of the additional details from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Court of Justice in response to a dpa request. This also applied to the information from the research that undercover investigators were deployed in the group before the arrests at the end of 2022.
According to the federal prosecutor’s office, the former AfD politician Malsack-Winkemann is said to have been a member of the association since August 2021. As a member of the Bundestag, she is said to have used her access rights to help several people in the group scout out parliament buildings. Even after she left the Bundestag in autumn 2021, she is said to have provided the group with information. Her lawyer left a dpa query about these allegations unanswered.
After her time in the Bundestag, the lawyer tried to return to her position as a Berlin judge – which the then Justice Senator Lena Kreck (Left) wanted to prevent. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Malsack-Winkemann is said to have belonged to the “Council” – a kind of shadow government – in the group of suspected conspirators and was responsible for the justice department.
After the plans were discovered, the AfD was denounced by other parties as, among other things, accelerating the fire. Party and parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel, however, criticized the fact that 3,000 officers had been sent out to raid “pensioners” against an “intended rollator coup”.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
