Another blow to the Reichsbürger scene in Germany: About 280 emergency services searched 20 apartments in eight states on Thursday morning in connection with investigations against suspected members of the scene. The twenty defendants, aged between 25 and 74, are accused of forming a criminal organization, as Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann and Bavarian Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (both CSU) announced.
In concrete terms, this concerns threats to employees of state institutions. The suspected leader, who allegedly operated one of the group’s Telegram channels, was arrested in late 2021. No further arrests were made on Thursday.
“There were no weapons among them”
Officials in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and Hamburg were deployed in the raids. One focus was on Baden-Württemberg with ten searches. According to Herrmann, a blank weapon, irritating devices, smartphones and data carriers were seized. “Weapons were not included,” the ministries said in a statement.
The specific accusations: “The Reich Citizens Group has insulted state institutions on a large scale nationwide and sometimes threatened them en masse, mainly via social media,” said Hermann. However, no concrete attacks have taken place so far, it said.
The leading public prosecutor’s office in Munich said the group wanted to block their communication channels by making targeted mass contact with authorities and thus influencing their decisions. The overarching goal was to destabilize the Federal Republic of Germany and its institutions and to prevent or at least hinder lawful state action.
‘For example, the interviewees were confronted with statements from Reich citizens, accused of committing human rights and war crimes, insulted and sometimes threatened with death.’ The researchers spoke of a ‘Telegram network of citizens and conspiracy theorists.’
Radelsführer is from Bavaria
Some “Reichsbürger” groups, which the Federal Attorney General is investigating over more serious allegations, also emerged from social media networking. The alleged leader of the new ‘Reichsbürger’ group comes from Upper Bavaria, from Olching in the Fürstenfeldbruck district. According to the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office, the 58-year-old was arrested in November 2021. In April 2022, the man was charged before the Munich I Regional Court with, among other things, forming a criminal organization, incitement to hatred and coercion. The process is not yet completed. The man is said to have managed the group’s main Telegram channel.
How the new searches came about: During its investigation, the prosecutor’s office subsequently encountered numerous other members of the suspected criminal organization, “some of whom are also classified as Reich citizens and self-governors.” Twenty of them were searched on Thursday to secure evidence and uncover other possible illegal structures – a total of 20 apartments plus Hechingen prison, where one of the suspects on other charges is housed, the prosecutor’s office said. A total of 21 objects were searched. “All evidence is being carefully evaluated,” Interior Minister Hermann said. The aim is “to further brighten up the environment of the Reich citizen,” he emphasized.
Source: Krone

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