Conspiracy theory in Germany, what is known about the detainees?
2022.12.07 07:46
Conspiracy theory in Germany, what is known about the detainees?
Budrigannews.com – Authorities claimed that the Reichsbuerger and QAnon ideologies were among the conspiracy theories held by the 25 suspects detained in Germany on Wednesday for allegedly plotting to overthrow the state.
In 2016, the Reichsbuerger movement was observed by Germany’s domestic intelligence service, Verfassungsschutz, shortly after one of its members shot and killed a policeman during a home invasion.
His hunting and sports guns, which the authorities deemed unfit for him to possess as a group member, were the focus of the police operation.
Today, the Verfassungsschutz identifies the Reichsbuerger with approximately 21,000 individuals, with approximately 5%, or 1,150, being considered far-right extremists.
According to the agency’s report for the year 2021, approximately 2,100 Reichsbuerger are prepared to achieve their objectives through the use of violence.
According to the Verfassungsschutz, the movement mostly operates in very small groups and virtual networks, but it also includes individuals who are not attached to any structures.
It has recently been fueled by an increasing number of COVID-fighting protesters joining its ranks.
Citizens of the Reich, or Reichsbuergers, do not recognize Germany today as a legitimate nation. Some of them are committed to the monarchical German empire, while others support Nazi ideas and believe that Germany is still under military occupation.
They are convinced that a “Deep State” runs Germany.
There are a lot of people on the street who reject German passports because they are invalid and stop administrative actions. They also try to get into a fight with the authorities and sometimes use force, like a suspect who shot a crossbow at police who were about to search his house in 2021.
Some Reichsbuerger demand that the great-great grandson of Emperor Wilhelm II, who was forced to abdicate in 1918 as a result of World War I, be crowned new emperor of Germany. On Wednesday, no one was detained but the great-great-grandson.
Germany, according to other Reichsbuerger members, is still under military occupation. According to the Verfassungsschutz, the leader of that segment of the movement was detained in 2021 after issuing “death sentences” against politicians and journalists on Telegram.
In 2021, a civil servant was removed from office by Germany’s highest administrative court on the grounds that he was a member of the Reichsbuerger movement and was not adhering to the German constitution.
According to the Verfassungsschutz report, the man had applied for a passport citing a 1913 citizenship law and referring to his birth state as the “Kingdom of Bavaria.”
Members of the Reichsbuerger have also attempted to organize alternative school lessons in opposition to school anti-COVID policies, utilizing German Empire-era textbooks.
In 2020, members of the Reichsbuerger were also among the several hundred people protesting COVID curbs who broke through police barriers in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, which houses the federal parliament. They could only be stopped once they reached the steps leading up to the entrance. These protesters were demonstrating against curbs that were being used to prevent COVID.
Authorities have been particularly concerned about the Reichsbuerger scene’s arms affinity and have scrambled to rid its members of their weapons in a nation where private firearms possession is uncommon.
According to the Verfassungsschutz, at least 1,050 of them will have lost their firearms in this manner by the end of 2021, and another 500 are believed to still hold gun licenses.
