The Reichsbürger movement is made up of a number of small organizations and individuals, mainly in the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bavaria. They do not accept the legality of the Federal Republic of Germany nor any of its government authorities.
Good point about preemptive arrest. Why not in the USA before Jan. 6. Actually it does happen in many other cases, the Whitmer kidnapping plot one recent one
How new Boogaloo Bois violence shattered Trump's pro-police facade [...] Hunter was not with antifa or BLM. He wasn’t seeking “justice for Floyd” — or anyone, for that matter. Rather, as a member of the boogaloo movement, Hunter was part of a loosely organized, often far-right, pro-gun, anti-government, violent extremist ideology. Sometimes described as a militia .. whitmer-conspiracy-allegations-tied-boogaloo-movement-n1242670" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer ugc" target="_blank">https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/whitmer-conspiracy-allegations-tied-boogaloo-movement-n1242670 , and often possessing disparate beliefs and motives, boogaloo members tend to have at least one overarching belief: They claim they are preparing for, and are even seeking to bring about, another civil war, or “boogaloo.” Two hours after the police precinct was set on fire, Hunter texted with another Boogaloo member in California, a man named Steven Carrillo. Carrillo was an Air Force sergeant from California who was later charged with fatally shooting a federal protective service officer in Oakland .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/17/boogaloo-steven-carrillo/?itid=lk_inline_manual_13 .. on May 29 and a Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy a week later. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=170501531
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Three men are convicted of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
October 26, 202211:54 AM ET
The Associated Press
Paul Bellar (from left), Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico, who were accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, were convicted of all charges Wednesday. Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and Jackson County Sheriff's Office via AP, File
Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing "material support" for a terrorist act as members of a paramilitary group, the Wolverine Watchmen.
They held gun drills in rural Jackson County with a leader of the scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials in 2020 and said he wanted to kidnap her.
Jurors read and heard violent, anti-government screeds as well as support for the "boogaloo," a civil war that might be triggered by a shocking abduction. Prosecutors said COVID-19 restrictions ordered by Whitmer turned out to be fruit to recruit more people to the Watchmen.
"The facts drip out slowly," state Assistant Attorney General Bill Rollstin told jurors in Jackson, Michigan, "and you begin to see — wow — there were things that happened that people knew about. ... When you see how close Adam Fox got to the governor, you can see how a very bad event was thwarted."
Morrison, 28, Musico, 44, and Bellar, 24, were also convicted of a gun crime and membership in a gang. Prosecutors said the Wolverine Watchmen was a criminal enterprise.
Pete Musico (left), appearing in court on Oct. 4, and two other men accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor were convicted of all charges on Wednesday. J. Scott Park/Jackson Citizen Patriot via AP, Pool, File
Morrison, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, and Musico watched the verdict by video away from the courtroom. Judge Thomas Wilson ordered all three to jail while they await sentencing scheduled for Dec. 15.
Defense attorneys argued that the three men had broken ties with Fox by late summer 2020 when the Whitmer plot came into focus. Unlike Fox and others, they didn't travel to northern Michigan to scout the governor's vacation home or participate in a key weekend training session inside a "shoot house."
"In this country, you are allowed to talk the talk but you only get convicted if you walk the walk," Musico's attorney, Kareem Johnson, said in his closing remarks.
Defense lawyers couldn't argue entrapment. But they attacked the tactics of Dan Chappel, an Army veteran and undercover informant. He took instructions from FBI agents, secretly recorded conversations and produced a deep cache of messages exchanged with the men.
Whitmer, a Democrat running for reelection on Nov. 8, was never physically harmed. Undercover agents and informants were inside Fox's group for months. The scheme was broken up with 14 arrests in October 2020.
"Gee, why can't we be more like the Germans, more preemptive; afterall Trump wanted 'his' generals to be more like them, the Nazi ones anyway. Germany arrests 25 accused of plotting coup"
Published 6 hours ago
Among the 25 detained was a minor aristocrat called Heinrich XIII DPA Picture Alliance
By Paul Kirby BBC News
Twenty-five people have been arrested in raids across Germany on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.
The group of far-right and ex-military figures are said to have prepared for a "Day X" to storm the Reichstag parliament building and seize power.
A man named as Heinrich XIII, from an old aristocratic family, is alleged to have been central to their plans.
According to federal prosecutors, he is one of two alleged ringleaders among those arrested across 11 German states.
The plotters are said to include members of the extremist Reichsbürger [Citizens of the Reich] movement, which has long been in the sights of German police over violent attacks and racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Other suspects came from the QAnon movement who believe their country is in the hands of a mythical "deep state" involving secret powers pulling the political strings.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser assured Germans that authorities would respond with the full force of the law "against the enemies of democracy".
------------------------------------------------------------------ A modern-day conspiracy coup? Analysis box by Marianna Spring, Disinformation and social media reporter
The Reichsbürger group aren't new - they pre-date the pandemic. But this audacious plot indicates increased commitment - and radicalisation - which could go hand-in-hand with the growth of pandemic disinformation online.
The plot to kidnap the German health minister - masterminded by a gang linked to these people back in April - is the first indication this has strong ties with Covid-19 conspiracy movements.
Telegram groups related to "citizens of the Reich" show an interest in conspiracy theories suggesting Covid-19 and vaccines are part of sinister plots to control populations.
There's disinformation about the war in Ukraine - and posts too about QAnon, the sprawling US conspiracy theory that has links to the riots at Capitol Hill on January 6th.
They post in support of the Sovereign Citizens movements, which at its heart believes they are immune from government rules. Ultimately this group has co-opted a range of conspiracy beliefs that push the idea evil cabals are looking to control our lives - and they've got to overthrow them.
It might sound like a pretty outlandish plot to the average person, but it's emblematic of something important.
We've had warnings before about offline action linked to online disinformation and hate before - anti-vaccine violence and the riots at the Capitol in the US.
But this is a reminder that, even as the pandemic eases in some parts of the world, its conspiracy legacy remains - and can embolden little-known fringe groups to take action in the realworld. ------------------------------------------------------------------
An estimated 50 men and women are said to have been part of the group, which allegedly plotted to overthrow the republic and replace it with a new state modelled on the Germany of 1871 - an empire called the Second Reich.
"We don't yet have a name for this group," said a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office. The interior minister said it was apparently made up of an organisation "council" and a military arm.
Wednesday's dawn raids are being described as one of the biggest anti-extremism operations in modern German history.
Three thousand officers took part in 150 operations in 11 of Germany's 16 states, with two people arrested in Austria and Italy.
Almost half of arrests took place in southern states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. More than one in five Reichsbürger are thought to be based in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg alone.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann tweeted that a suspected "armed attack on constitutional bodies was planned". Ms Faeser said later that the investigation would peer into the "abyss of a terrorist threat from the Reichsbürger scene".
------------------------------------------------------------------ Who are the Reichsbürger?
* So-called Citizens of the Reich reject Germany's modern democracy and refuse to pay taxes
* 10% are thought to be violent, and antisemitism and conspiracy theories are widespread
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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 .. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61106241 .. while also creating "civil war conditions" to bring about an end to Germany's democracy.
A former far-right AfD member of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, is suspected of being part of the plot, and of being lined up as the group's justice minister.
Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, who was among the 25 people arrested, returned to her role as judge last year and a court has since turned down attempts to dislodge her.
Reuters The suspected terrorist group uncovered today is - according to the current status of the inquiry - driven by fantasies of violent overthrow and conspiracy ideologies Nancy Faeser German Interior Minister
A prominent lawyer was pencilled in to handle the group's foreign affairs, with 71-year-old Heinrich XIII as leader.
Public Prosecutor General Peter Frank said Heinrich was among the suspects whom investigating judges had asked to be held in custody.
Heinrich XIII styles himself as a prince and comes from an old noble family known as the House of Reuss, which ruled over parts of the modern eastern state of Thuringia until 1918.
Descendants still own a few castles and Heinrich himself is said to have a hunting lodge at Bad Lobenstein in Thuringia.
The rest of the family have long distanced themselves from the minor aristocrat, with one spokesman telling local broadcaster MDR during the summer that Heinrich was an "at times confused" man who had fallen for "misconceptions fuelled by conspiracy theories".
As well as a shadow government, the plotters allegedly had plans for a military arm run by a second ringleader identified as Rüdiger von P.
They were made up of active and former members of the military, officials believe, and included ex-elite soldiers from special units. The aim of the military arm was to eliminate democratic bodies at local level, prosecutors said.
Rüdiger von P is suspected of trying to recruit police officers in northern Germany and of having an eye on army barracks too. Bases in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria were all inspected for possible use after the government was overthrown, officials said.
One of those under investigation had been a member of the Special Commando Forces, and police searched his home and his room at the Graf-Zeppelin military base in Calw, south-west of Stuttgart.
Another suspect has been identified as Vitalia B, a Russian woman who was asked to approach Moscow on Heinrich's behalf. The Russian embassy in Berlin said in a statement that it did not "maintain contacts with representatives of terrorist groups and other illegal entities".
Several violent attacks have been linked to Germany's far-right in recent years. In 2020, a 43-year-old man shot dead nine people of foreign origin in the western town of Hanau, and a Reichsbürger member was jailed for killing a policeman in 2016.
The Reichsbürger movement is estimated to have as many as 21,000 followers, of whom around 5% are considered to belong to the extreme right.
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