The most prominent part of the trial that accuses a would-be prince, a former judge and retired military officers of planning a coup against the German state has begun today.
Standing the trial is the group’s alleged kingpin Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss – a far-right German aristocrat who along with eight other alleged plotters planned to storm the Reichstag in Berlin using armed force.
AFPDefendant minor aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss arrive at the courtroom in Frankfurt today[/caption]
APThe so-called prince was arrested in 2022 with at least 24 others suspected of planning a coup in Germany[/caption]
AFPJudge and former MP for the far-right Alternative for Germany Birgit Malsack-Winkemann arrive for the trial[/caption]
EPAA defendant arrives on the first day of the ‘Reichsbuerger’ trial in Stuttgart, Germany[/caption]
Reuss is a descendant of a 700-year-old noble family that once ruled over large swathes of the eastern German region of Thuringia
Reuss, 72 allegedly wanted to oust Chancellor Olaf Scholz and establish himself as the de facto king in a bizarre plan that was thwarted after heavily armed cops arrested him and his pals in 2022.
The plotters are accused of trying to recruit current and former cops and other armed forces to form 286 different military units dubbed “homeland security companies”, The Times reports.
They had amassed 362 firearms, 347 bladed weapons and 148,761 rounds of ammunition, according to the justice ministry.
Prosecutors believe that some 16 members of the coup were to enter and attack the German parliament and handcuff politicians – with the intent to kill them.
The Frankfurt trial, which began today in a purpose-built courtroom on the outskirts of Germany’s financial capital, is the second that involves the plotters.
Another trial involving the group’s alleged paramilitary force including cops, military personnel, a metal worker and a plumber began last month in Stuttgart
A third trial is set to take place in Munich next month – and will involve the group’s so-called esoteric wing which includes a celebrity chef and a doctor among others.
The group’s chief Reuss is a descendant of a 700-year-old noble family that once ruled over large swathes of the eastern German region of Thuringia.
The engineer, who made his fortune in real estate and sparkling wine business, is believed to have grown bitter about the German government after fighting endless failed legal battles to reclaim lands and estates in his eastern homeland following unification in 1990.
He, along with others accused of the coup, is said to be a part of a growing movement known as Reichsbürger – or citizens of the Reich.
With an estimated size of 23,000 people, the campaign aims to reclaim the borders before the two World Wars – and refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of the current German state.
The madman is believed to have planned the coup as he grew bitter about the German system after years of unsuccessful legal battles to reclaim lands and estates in his eastern homeland following unification in 1990.
The properties were seized by the Soviet Union after World War Two.
Who is Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss?
ARISTROCAT Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss is said to have been the main leader of the coup plot and was supposed to be installed as Germany’s new head of state.
He is a descendant of a 700-year-old noble family that once ruled over large swathes of the eastern German region of Thuringia.
Germany’s nobility was abolished in 1919 but many descendants of noble families have kept their titles through surnames that can be passed down the generations.
Reuss’s name in German is “Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss”, so “Prince Reuss” is his surname.
One of six children in his family, Reuss trained as an engineer but made his living as a real estate businessman.
He lives in Frankfurt but also owns a castle in Bad Lobenstein in Thuringia.
Reuss is accused of trying to make contact with Russia ahead of the planned coup through his Russian partner, called Vitalia B.
Other descendants of the noble family have distanced themselves from Reuss, and the current head of the family said that he was seen as the “black sheep”.
Reuss had previously attracted attention with his oddball theories.
In a rambling speech to a conference in Zurich in 2019, he referred to the “so-called Federal Republic of Germany” and claimed the country had been run by the Allies since the end of World War II.
The accused standing on trial alongside Reuss include former Bundeswehr lieutenant colonel Rüdiger von Pescatore, former colonel Maximilian Eder and judge and former MP Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.
Pescatore, 70, is a former German army commander who was intended to be in charge of the military after the coup.
He began his career as a paratrooper before becoming a lieutenant colonel and then commander of the paratrooper battalion.
But Pescatore’s military career came to an abrupt end in the mid-1990s when he was found guilty of misappropriating weapons from old army stocks.
He received a suspended sentence, was expelled from the army and emigrated with his family to Brazil, eventually returning to Germany in 2021.
Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a judge and former member of parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, is believed to be the group’s justice minister.
Investigators believe the 59-year-old had passed on her inside knowledge of the German parliament to help the group plan an armed attack on the Bundestag building.
Police who raided her apartment found several weapons as well as large stocks of food, according to German media.
The divorced mother of two was an MP from 2017 to 2021.
She then returned to working as a judge in Berlin in March 2022, despite attempts by the local government to force her into early retirement due to concerns over her impartiality.
During the 2017 election campaign, Malsack-Winkemann spoke out in favour of closing Germany’s borders to migrants and vowed to “fight for our country”.
Maximilian Eder, a former army colonel, appeared in a separate court hearing in Munich last month on four charges of driving without a licence and under the influence of alcohol.
Another member of the coup Fritsch was a police officer who was suspended in 2020 after allegedly taking part in demonstrations against Covid regulations.
GettyThe Reichstag, seat of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament[/caption]
EPAA judicial officer waits for the beginning of the ‘Reichsbuerger’ trial in Stuttgart[/caption]
Some 3,000 cops searched 130 sites across the country in one of the largest search operations in history
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