After German detectives broke up a network of “Reichsbürger” (a famous chef in Kitzbühel was also arrested), the Office for the Protection of the Constitution noted that this scene is growing: about 23,000 people are believed to belong to this group of conspirators. This year alone, some 2,000 people have joined – that corresponds to an increase of almost ten percent. One in ten is considered violent.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) expressed concern about “Bild am Sonntag”. In 2018 and 2019, the domestic secret service assigned about 19,000 people to this very heterogeneous scene – and their numbers are growing.
239 violent crimes in 2021
The German figures on various extremist tendencies are coordinated by the federal and state intelligence agencies in December before the intelligence agency’s annual report is released. Last year, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution assigned more than five percent of the group “Reichsbürger und Selbstverwalter” to the extreme right spectrum. About ten percent of the “citizens of the empire” are considered violent. In 2021, the German police recorded 239 violent crimes attributable to the scene, significantly more than in the previous year.
“Reich citizens” are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany and its democratic structures. They often refuse to pay taxes. Some “citizens of the state” make their own imaginary identity cards. The German federal prosecutor arrested 25 people on Wednesday, including former agents. She accuses 22 of those arrested as members of a terrorist organization that sought to overthrow the political system in Germany.
Three other detainees are considered supporters. The 23 suspects arrested in Germany have been detained since Thursday and two more arrests have been made in raids in Austria and Italy. With the exception of one Russian, they all have German nationality. The federal prosecutor’s office also spoke of 27 other suspects.
Pandemic increased activity in the scene
The security authorities attribute the fact that the “Reichsbürger” scene has grown so quickly over the past two years mainly to the protests against government measures to contain the corona pandemic. These would have led to “more dynamism and activity”, according to the report for the protection of the constitution for 2021.
Source: Krone
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