Germany bans far-right group linked to ‘Reich Citizens’ movement, arrests leaders
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has banned the far-right group “Kingdom of Germany,’’ a prominent faction of the Reich Citizens movement.
The four of its alleged ringleaders detained during raids across several German states.
The group, which reportedly has around 6,000 followers, has been accused of establishing a “counter-state’’ and building criminal economic structures.
Four German men were taken into custody, including the group’s founder, Peter Fitzek, a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office said.
The men, aged between 37 and 59, were due to appear before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to the Interior Ministry, police have been conducting raids since early Tuesday on properties of key members, including in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
It also said the group has for years operated illegal banking and insurance businesses through affiliated entities.
Dobrindt stated that the group’s members used anti-Semitic conspiracy theories to support their claimed sovereignty, adding that such behaviour cannot be tolerated in a state governed by the rule of law.
So-called Reichsbürger, or “Reich Citizens’’ believe that the modern German republic illegitimately replaced the German Reich that was founded in 1871 and continued under the Nazi regime until 1945.
They do not recognise democratic institutions like parliament, courts, or laws and refuse to pay taxes, social security contributions, or fines.
The “Kingdom of Germany’’ group was founded in 2012 by Peter Fitzek, who was born in Saxony-Anhalt. He appointed himself its head.
Suspected ringleaders of group detained
Police have arrested four alleged ringleaders of the banned far-right group “Kingdom of Germany’’ including its founder Peter Fitzek.
The German men, aged between 37 and 59, were taken into custody on Tuesday morning as part of a broader crackdown on the extremist Reich Citizens movement.
A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office said.
The spokeswoman said the suspects were to appear before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to the spokeswoman, two arrests were made in the German state of Saxony, one in Brandenburg and another in Rhineland-Palatinate.
In addition, authorities carried out a search at the home of a suspect in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has banned the far-right group “Kingdom of Germany’’ a prominent faction of the Reich Citizens movement.
So-called Reich Citizens, or Reichsbürger, believe that the modern German republic illegitimately replaced the German Reich that was founded in 1871 and continued under the Nazi regime until 1945.
They reject the legitimacy of Germany’s modern federal state and its laws.
