Alleged organizers of “Reich Citizens” face up to 15 years behind bars for the 2022 plot
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.
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