German police raid 130 sites on far-right suspects

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German police raid 130 sites on far-right suspects

BERLIN AP - Thousands of police carried out a series of raids across much of Germany on Wednesday against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly tried to overthrow the state in an armed coup.

Federal prosecutors said that some 3,000 officers conducted searches at 130 sites in 11 of Germany's 16 states against the adherents of the so-called Reich Citizens movement. Some of the grouping oppose Germany's post-war constitution and have called for the overthrow of the government.

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann described the raids as an anti-terrorism operation, adding that the suspects may have planned an armed attack on institutions of the state.

Prosecutors said 22 German citizens were arrested on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organization. Three other people, including a Russian citizen, are suspected of supporting the organization, they said. A further 27 people are being investigated.

The southwestern town of Calw has searched for the barracks of Germany's special forces unit KSK. The unit has been scrutinized over its involvement over alleged far-right involvement by some soldiers in the past.

Federal prosecutors did not say anything about the barracks being searched.

Along with detentions in Germany, prosecutors said that one person was arrested in the Austrian town of Kitzbuehel and another in the Italian city of Perugia.

Prosecutors said they had formed a terrorist organization with the goal of overturning the existing state order in Germany and replacing it with their own form of state, which was already in the course of being founded. The suspects were aware that their aim could only be achieved by military means and with force, prosecutors said.

Some of the group's members had made concrete preparations to storm Parliament with a small armed group, according to prosecutors. The details of this plan still need to be investigated to determine whether any of the suspects can be charged with treason.

According to the statement, the group is accused of having believed in a conglomerate of conspiracy theories consisting of narratives from the so-called Reich Citizens as well as QAnon ideology. Prosecutors said that members of the group believe that Germany is ruled by a so-called deep state and that similar baseless claims about the United States were made by former President Donald Trump.

The ringleaders were identified by the prosecutor as Heinrich XIII P. R. and Ruediger v. P. according to German privacy rules. The former was a well-known 71-year-old member of a minor German noble family, while the latter was a 69-year-old former paratrooper.

Federal prosecutors said that Heinrich XIII P. R., whom the group planned to install as Germany's new leader, had contacted Russian officials with the aim of negotiating a new order in the country once the German government was overthrown. He was accused of being assisted by a Russian woman, Vitalia B..

The persons contacted responded positively to his request, according to the current investigations, there is no indication that they responded positively to his request, prosecutors said.

A person being arrested by police Wednesday was identified as Birgit M. W. Der Spiegel, a judge and former lawmaker with the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

The German acronym AfD has been subject to scrutiny by German security services due to its links with extremists. It didn't want to comment immediately on the report.

Prosecutors said that the group had tasked several members with the formation of an armed wing, apart from a council of leaders, or Rat. They were led by Ruediger v. P. and planned to obtain weapons and conduct firearms training. It was not clear how far advanced these plans were.

Germany's chief federal prosecutor planned to make a statement later Wednesday.