ISD Explainer: The Reichsbürger Movement in Germany

On 7 December 2022, German police forces raided more than 130 homes and made 25 arrests across 11 German states in connection with an alleged coup plot by adherents of the ‘Reichsbürger‘ movement. According to national security correspondents, this was one of the largest counter-terrorism investigation in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Shortly after, the Public Prosecutor General at the Federal Court of Justice published a press release, outlining details of the group’s planned activities: according to the Public Prosecutor General, the group had been planning their coup since November 2021, tasking its armed wing with attacking the German Parliament building and overthrowing the constitutional order of the Federal Republic of Germany. In turn, the group would establish a state modelled on the German Reich of 1871 and install an interim government led by Prince Heinrich XIII., the group’s leader. A former MP of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) was to become Justice Minister. So-called ‘Heimatschutzkompanien’ (regiments to protect the Homeland) would then consolidate the new system and eliminate remaining political opponents on the local level.

Learn more about the Reichsbürger Movement in Germany