Germany: Police raid 'Reichsbürger' sites amid coup trial
June 4, 2024
Germany's federal prosecutor's office announced police raids of several properties in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein on Tuesday.
One of the larger police operations was visible in the municipality of Althengstett in Baden-Württemberg in the southwest, where the two suspects being investigated as part of Tuesday's operation reside.
They are suspected of supporting the far-right "Reichsbürger" (or "Citizens of the Reich" in English) movement, which does not recognize the formation of modern Germany after World War II.
Several senior members, including alleged ringleader and German noble Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss, were accused late in 2022 of plotting a coup and are currently on trial. Tuesday's raids coincided with another trial day in Frankfurt in that case, with the businessman and aristocrat among those present in court.
The suspects under investigation in Tuesday's raids are reportedly suspected of making properties available to the group for recruiting and fundraising events.
Investigators testify in Frankfurt trial
The two main witnesses in court in Frankfurt on Tuesday were investigators in the case.
The first was from Germany's federal investigative police unit, the BKA, who was testifying primarily on investigators' findings about Reuss and his personal ties and effects.
This included information on his business activities, internet presence, and club membership, as well as cars, finances, bank accounts and places of residence.
The investigator and the defense lawyers also clashed for an extended period during cross examination on the question of whether or not Heinrich divorced his Iranian-born wife in 2005, with the investigator questioning whether the marriage had in fact been rendered void.
The second investigator described some of the circumstances of the raids on the aristocrat's home and other suspected Reichsbürger sites in December of 2022. He had led the search operation in Reuss' apartment.
He said the building had been messy and dusty and that it had not been easy for investigators to access all of it. But he also said that Reuss had been cooperative and calm throughout.
Investigators had seized items including computer hard drives and USB sticks, 32 low caliber bullets and financial documents. Officers also found pepper spray in the bathroom and a saber in the living room, he said.
He also noted that several journalists were present amid this search, an issue that prompted follow-up questions from the defense such as how many were there and who had given them advanced notice of the operation.
Defense team says Reuss intends to testify
The ongoing trial in Frankfurt is against nine men and women in total, Reuss included. They're accused of the membership and support of a terrorist group and of planning an armed uprising.
The defense also said in court that Reuss himself planned to testify during the trial.
"It is his inner need to explain why violence could never be a goal in his life," defense lawyer Roman von Alvensleben told the court on Tuesday. The court will be in session again on Wednesday.
msh/rc (AFP, dpa)
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