Some of the group’s members had served in the German army (the Bundeswehr) in the past, and were tasked with forming the so-called homeland security companies in the group. The group also appears to have had various specialised councils for different tasks, such as Justice, Foreign Affairs and Health. The group had already begun extensive preparations, including the planning of administrative-like structures, the procurement of equipment, the implementation of shooting training, and the recruitment of new members. According to the investigators, there is no evidence the Russians responded positively to this approach. One of the group’s members, a member of the German nobility, had already made contact with Russian representatives in Germany on the group’s behalf. After removing the current government, the group envisioned creating a military transitional government and negotiating a new state order in Germany with the Allied powers of WWII with the main contact being the Russian Federation. The use of deadly force was wilfully and consciously integrated into the group’s plans. Mainly responsible for this task was the military arm of the group. The fight against the remaining institutions and representatives of the state was to be carried out by the group and a country-wide network of so-called homeland security companies founded by members of the group. The group members also, according to the official press release (linked above), apparently believed that members of the Alliance are already in Germany and that their attack on the Deep State is imminent. ![]() Driven by the belief that Germany is currently ruled by members of a so-called Deep State, they hoped to achieve or cause a liberation through the intervention of the Alliance, a technically superior secret alliance of governments, intelligence services and militaries of various states, including the Russian Federation and the United States of America. The members of the group were allegedly motivated by a mixture of conspiracy theories consisting of narratives of the so-called Reichsbürger (sovereign citizen), as well as QAnon ideology. The arrested suspects allegedly belong to a terrorist organisation founded at the end of November 2021, which aimed to remove the existing political order in Germany by force, and to replace it with its own already established system. This Perspective discusses what we currently know and discusses what it means in the context of the history of far-right terrorism in Germany.Īccording to the official press release from the Federal Prosecutor General’s office, the group of arrestees consists of 24 German and one Russian national. But since the authorities are now entering the stage of sifting through the data and evidence collected during the raids, the current picture is likely to evolve and change up until any trials are held/convictions can be reached.ĭespite this critical caution not to jump to conclusions and maybe even jeopardise the investigation, the authorities and seemingly well-prepared news outlets were quick to release a trove of information. Eventually, the trial and verdicts will show this. We have no reliable information yet on how far the group had progressed in their plans. ![]() Nor do we know yet how deeply involved, and how many of the group’s members were involved in the Reichsbürger movement or other conspiracy milieus. For example, we currently have no idea how influential QAnon (see the below) truly was for the members of this group. Naturally, with an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation, there is still much we do not know. Officers searched over 130 properties in eleven German states, and 25 suspects were arrested with the overall investigation focusing on 52 persons, alleged to have formed or support a terrorist organization and to have plotted to overthrow the German government. On the early morning of 7 December 2022, around 3,000 German police officers including specialised tactical response units began searching premises and arresting suspects across the country at a scale which might be the largest counter-terrorism operation targeting far-right domestic extremists in the history of post-WWII Germany.
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