Federal police in Germany arrested 22 members of two far-right organizations who the government says were plotting a violent coup.
In addition, three supporters of the extremist groups were also arrested. The German federal prosecutor said in a statement that arrests are continuing and that up to 50 suspected members of the Reich Citizens movement, founded no later than November 2021, were plotting to overthrow the government and replace it with their own version of German nationalism.
“The accused are united by a deep rejection of state institutions and the free democratic basic order of the Federal Republic of Germany, which over time has led to their decision to participate in their violent elimination and to engage in concrete preparatory actions for this purpose,” the statement said.
“The members of the group follow a conglomerate of conspiracy myths consisting of narratives of the so-called Reichsbürger as well as QAnon ideology.”
And what’s a right-wing coup without a pretend “prince” to take power?
A right-wing conspiracist Qanon coup is a grave matter in a democracy: arrested German conspirators include a judge & army officers. One of its leaders is Prince Heinrich VIII of Reuss who planned to rule as Regent, adding a touch of Ruritanian farce…https://t.co/40KpGKKoPk
— S Sebag Montefiore (@simonmontefiore) December 7, 2022
Germany has struggled to get a grip on far-right extremism in recent years. In June 2020, an elite German military unit known as the KSK was partially disbanded after it was found to have a build-up of right-wing extremists. The KSK embark on operations such anti-terror campaigns and hostage situations, according to Agence France-Presse news agency.
Earlier that year, in February 2020, a mass shooting left nine people dead at two shisha bars in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt. Then-Chancellor Angela Merkel said the gunman had acted out of “right-wing extremist, racist motives.” The incident was the third deadly attack attributed to right-wing suspects in the country in one year.
Why take this pathetic right-wing rabble seriously? True, they never would have succeeded in whatever cockamamie, lunatic scheme they came up with to overthrow the government, but some people may have gotten hurt or killed. That’s a good enough reason to slam the door in their faces.
The group is heavily influenced by right-wing conspiracy theories, authorities say, including a belief in a secretive, malign “deep state” running the country as seen in the QAnon movement. It believes that the Federal Republic of Germany is not a sovereign state and its members espouse antisemitic conspiracy theories, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution said.
Reichsbürger activists and members of other closely-related groups commonly take part in protests against Covid-19 restrictions. The pandemic was a rallying cause for far-right actors across Europe, adding to baseless accusations of a wider government plot to control citizens.
So because right-wing nuts protested against pandemic restrictions, that delegitimizes them completely? Sheesh.
As we saw with the January 6 investigation and the way that Democrats have politicized and exaggerated the riot, no doubt the socialists in charge in Germany will look to exploit this incident for all it’s worth.
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