A German parliamentary committee confirmed Monday that detainees in the country suspected of planning a coup in Germany planned to recruit and form a parallel army to achieve their goals.
The alleged conspiracy, which would have been brought to nothing in a series of raids and searches carried out last week in various parts of the country, included the creation of nearly 300 «national security companies» established in various parts of the country and from which a new army would eventually be formed.
The Legal Affairs Committee of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, has indicated that the investigators have reached this conclusion after collecting numerous «confidential declarations». In this regard, they have warned that in some Länder, such as Saxony, Thuringia and Baden-Württemberg, measures had already been taken in this respect.
The deputies warned that although there is no indication that a coup d’état was imminent, there is evidence that there was a threat because of the group’s willingness to use violence to achieve its goals.
At least 25 suspects, including the former deputy of the far-right Alternative for Germany Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, have been arrested in connection with the group, which follows a conglomeration of conspiracy myths of so-called Reichsburger (Reich Citizens) ideologies and has been labeled as terrorist by the government.
The deputy and member of the commission, Clara Bünger, has indicated that more than 400,000 euros in cash, as well as gold and silver coins, were also found during the raids. In addition, the group had gold bars valued at 6 million euros.
The case, which has shocked Germany, is being discussed this week in Parliament. Those arrested are suspected of being members of a terrorist organization whose alleged ringleaders have been identified as ‘Rudiger’ and ‘Prince Henrich XIII’. The latter would be the great-great-grandson of Wilhelm II of Germany, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, who was forced to abdicate in 1918 after World War I.
