In the terror trial against the “Reichsbürger” group around Henry XIII. Prince Reuss began reading out the charges. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses the nine defendants of being members of a terrorist organization or of having supported it. Reuss acted as a ringleader, said the representative of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in his presentation to the Higher Regional Court.
The terrorist organization was founded at the end of July 2021. A violent coup was planned. To do this, an armed group broke into the Reichstag building in Berlin and arrested members of the Bundestag and members of the federal government. The charge is partly based on planning a treasonous enterprise. Violation of the weapons law is also among the allegations against some of the defendants.
According to the prosecution, the starting point was a deep rejection of state institutions and the free-democratic basic order. The defendants were connected to each other through conspiracy theories and narratives from “Reich citizens”.
The defendants include ex-Bundeswehr soldiers and a former AfD member of the Bundestag. The defendants are presumed innocent until a verdict is reached.
The process initially got off to a rather bumpy start. Among other things, the defense lawyers made numerous motions – the Senate rejected these after breaks in deliberations. Therefore, the reading of the charges only began after the lunch break.