Police in Germany have arrested 25 suspected far-right extremists on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the German government in an armed coup.
The suspects are allegedly members and supporters of a domestic terrorist organization known as the “Reichsbürger movement.” The suspects were arrested after a nationwide raid. Of the 25 men and women arrested, 24 are German nationals, and one is Russian.
The majority of those arrested are accused of being part of a “terrorist organization,” according to the public prosecutor’s statement, while the remaining three — including a Russian national — were detained on suspicion of being supporters.
The plot involving current and former soldiers, so-called Reichsbürgers, or Reich Citizens, and conspiracy theorists, aimed to eliminate the existing state order in Germany “by violence and military means”, prosecutors said today.
Members of the elite GSG 9 commando unit took part in the raids on 150 homes, offices and storage sites, including a barracks of the KSK special forces command, Germany’s equivalent