“United Patriots”: Indictment for planned kidnapping of Lauterbach

A 61-year-old man is said to have planned the overthrow of the German government and the kidnapping of Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) as a member of a suspected terrorist group. The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office has now brought charges against the German, the authority announced. He is accused of membership in a terrorist organization and of preparing a treasonous enterprise.

The man from the Bergstrasse district in Hesse is said to have been a member of the group called “United Patriots”. Five suspected members of the group have been accused before the Koblenz Higher Regional Court for almost a year. Among other things, they are said to have planned a large-scale power outage, the kidnapping of Lauterbach and the holding of a constituent meeting for a new government. According to the investigative authorities, their goal was to eliminate the free-democratic basic order in Germany and to introduce a constitution modeled on the German Empire in 1871.

By ship to Russia for a “joint relationship”

According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 61-year-old is said to have attended group meetings and agreed to take part in Lauterbach’s planned kidnapping. According to the statement, he is said to have agreed that his garage could be used to store weapons. He also said he was prepared to travel by ship across the Baltic Sea to Russia as part of a delegation in order to “negotiate a ‘collaboration’ and to procure military equipment,” it said.

According to authorities, the 61-year-old has been in custody since October 2023. The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court must now decide whether to admit the charges.