SWAT deployments, more than 130 searches and a total of 25 arrests have been carried out in Germany and several neighboring countries in what the media is calling one of the largest counter-terrorist operations in the nation’s history.
The suspects include former members of the military and police force, as well as a Russian national. They are believed to have conspired to depose the current government by force, and reinstate a regime modeled on the German Reich of 1871.
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In the early hours of Wednesday, some 3,000 German police officers stormed apartments located in 11 of the country’s regions, authorities revealed.
BREAKING — A coup has been thwarted in Germany and 25 people have been arrested in raids across the country per a BBC report
A group of far-right and ex-military figures planned to storm the parliament building, the Reichstag, and seize power.
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) December 7, 2022
The group members are said to be adherents of the QAnon ideology, who believe Germany is currently being controlled by the ‘deep state’.
Having started their preparations for a coup back in November 2021, the suspects formed a ‘military wing,’ and were actively attempting to recruit military personnel currently serving in the Bundeswehr.
The conspirators also allegedly formed a shadow cabinet, planning to put a nobleman from Frankfurt, Prinz Heinrich XIII, at the helm for an interim period following the coup.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann tweeted that a major anti-terror operation was taking place and a suspected “armed attack on constitutional bodies was planned”.
The federal prosecutor’s office said the group had been plotting a violent coup since November 2021 and members of its central “Rat” (council) had since held regular meetings.
They had already established plans to rule Germany with departments covering health, justice and foreign affairs, the prosecutor said. Members understood they could only realise their goals by “military means and violence against state representatives” which included carrying out killings.
Investigators are thought to have got wind of the group when they uncovered a kidnap plot last April involving a gang who called themselves United Patriots.
They too were part of the Reichsbürger scene and had allegedly planned to abduct Health Minister Karl Lauterbach while also creating “civil war conditions” to bring about an end to Germany’s democracy.
RT story with additional input from Global Village Space News Desk.