Reich Citizens: German police raids target suspected extremists ‘seeking to overthrow state’

Twenty-five people have been detained as part of a series of raids on suspected far-right extremists across Germany, according to reports.
By Stephen Mcilkenny
Published 7th Dec 2022, 08:57 BST

The dpa news agency cited federal prosecutors as saying officers conducted searches in 11 of Germany’s 16 states against members of the so-called Reich Citizens movement.

Some members of the grouping reject Germany’s post-war constitution and have called for the overthrow of the government.

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Der Spiegel reported that locations searched include the barracks of Germany’s special forces unit KSK in the south-western town of Calw.

Thousands of police carried out a series of raids across much of Germany on Wednesday against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state by force. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)Thousands of police carried out a series of raids across much of Germany on Wednesday against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state by force. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)
Thousands of police carried out a series of raids across much of Germany on Wednesday against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state by force. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

The unit has in the past been scrutinised over alleged far-right involvement by some soldiers.

One person was detained in the Austrian town of Kitzbühel and another in the Italian city of Perugia.

Prosecutors said the suspected ringleaders, identified only as Heinrich XIII PR and Rüdiger v P, were accused of founding a “terrorist organisation with the goal of overturning the existing state order in Germany and replacing it with their own form of state.”