“Obviously, this is a more than visible and very serious case,” Scholz said at a meeting with heads of regional governments about the operations carried out on Wednesday in 11 federal states, during which 25 people were arrested.
The police operation showed “our democracy’s ability to act” and the determination to act “with total firmness” against these groups, he added.
Among the 25 participants, 23 of whom were arrested today alone, is judge and former AfD MP Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.
According to an investigation launched by the Attorney General’s Office, the group is associated with the “Reichsburger” or “Citizens of the Reich”, a radical movement that does not recognize the current borders, constitutional order or German authorities.
The organization consisted of a kind of advisory council and an armed wing, Attorney General Peter Frank said, and its goal was “to destroy the constitutional democratic order in Germany by violence and military means.”
Supposedly, the leader of the group is an aristocrat named Heinrich K.R., who calls himself Heinrich XIII or Prince Reuss.
He is a 71-year-old businessman from Frankfurt, active in real estate and known for spreading conspiracy theories.
Among those detained was a Russian citizen allegedly tasked with arranging negotiations with Russia after the attack on parliament.
A total of 3,000 agents participated in the police operation and searches were carried out in 150 homes or offices located in 11 federal states.
According to German newspaper Die Welt on Wednesday, German judge Birgit Malzack-Winkemann has resigned from her post.
