Eight People On Trial For Allegedly Plotting To Overthrow German Government

Eight defendants are on trial for allegedly plotting to topple the German government. In Munich on Tuesday, eight defendants charged with taking part in an alleged far-right scheme to overthrow the German government began the final of three trials in this extensive case.

The indictment against the eight Germans is “preparation of high treasonous undertaking,” involving two women and six males. In addition, some of them are accused of planning a major violent event, while others are accused of being members of or creating terrorist organizations. 26 persons are currently being tried in connection with the case, which shocked the nation when it was revealed in late 2022.

Last month, the most well-known accused and suspected ringleaders—including a former far-right politician and a self-styled prince—went on trial in Frankfurt.

The “military arm” of the scheme is the main subject of a nine-person trial in Stuttgart that started at the end of April. All of these should be drawn out processes. 55 trial sessions have been scheduled at the Munich state court through the end of January, according to a report by the German news agency dpa.

According to the prosecution, the accused were persuaded that Germany is governed by a so-called deep state and held to “conspiracy myths,” such as the ideology of QAnon and Reich Citizens. German Spy Service The Reich Citizens movement’s adherents demanded the overthrow of the government and rejected Germany’s postwar constitution.

German spy service While QAnon is a global conspiracy theory with American roots, Reich Citizens movement adherents oppose Germany’s postwar constitution and have called for overthrowing the government. Prosecutors said that the group intended to storm into Berlin’s parliament building and take politicians into custody. As one of the allies that won the Second World War, Russia was supposedly the main partner in the negotiations for a post-coup order.

The conspirators allegedly possessed an array of weapons and funding totaling around 500,000 euros (£420,000). According to federal prosecutors, they had created many “lists of enemies” that would be utilized to seize control of local and regional government. Concerns over the far right are prevalent during the trial period.

The far right in Germany is a topic of increased concern during the time of the trials. The Domestic Intelligence Service stated in its annual report for 2023, which was made public on Tuesday, that there were 14,500 potentially violent right-wing extremists in the country last year compared to 14,000 in 2022.

According to the agency, the total amount of far-right offenses increased by over 22% to 25,660, with propaganda accounting for over half of those cases. Far-right violent offenses increased by 13% to 1,148, of which 1,016 entailed physical harm.

Thomas Haldenwang, the head of the intelligence service, reported that extreme right-wing protests had sharply increased and that their main concerns were immigration and asylum.