Germany busts plot to put ex-royal back in power, detains 25 people

Prosecutors said the group was inspired by the deep state conspiracy theories of Germany's Reichsbuerger and QAnon, whose advocates were among those arrested after the storming of the U.S. Capitol

Munich knife attacker injures several people, says German police — German police. Photo: Reuters

2 min read Last Updated : Dec 08 2022 | 12:32 AM IST

Germany on Wednesday detained 25 members and supporters of a far-right group that the prosecutor’s office said was preparing a violent overthrow of the state to install as national leader a prince who had sought support from Russia.

Prosecutors said the group was inspired by the deep state conspiracy theories of Germany's Reichsbuerger and QAnon, whose advocates were among those arrested after the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.

Members of the Reichsbuerger do not recognise modern-day Germany as a legitimate state. Some of them are devoted to the German empire under monarchy, while some are adherents of Nazi ideas and others believe Germany is under military occupation.

The plot envisaged a former member of a German royal family, identified as Heinrich XIII P. R. under Germany's privacy law, as leader in a future state while another suspect, Ruediger v.P., would be the head of the military arm, with the aim of building a new Germany army, prosecutors said. The group had emulated the structure of the government, creating a "council" that had regularly met since November 2021 as an administration in waiting with different departments, such as foreign affairs and health, prosecutors said.

They said Heinrich, who uses the title prince and comes from the royal House of Reuss, which had ruled over parts of eastern Germany, had reached out to representatives of Russia, whom the group saw as its central contact for establishing its new order.

It said there was no evidence the representatives had reacted positively to the request. Neither the House of Reuss nor Prince Reuss' Office responded to requests for comment.

An Interior Ministry spokesperson said security agencies were looking closely at any possible contact with Russia. The Kremlin said there could be no question of any Russian involvement in an alleged far-right plot to overthrow the German state, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that it “appears to be a German internal problem”.