German officials arrested 22 suspected members and three suspected supporters of a far-right terrorist organization across the country on Wednesday on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.
In a statement, the German federal prosecutor’s office said an estimated 50 people were suspected to have been part of the group called Reich Citizens movement, founded no later than November 2021, who were plotting to overthrow the government and replace it with their own order.
“The accused are united by a deep rejection of state institutions and the free democratic basic order of the Federal Republic of Germany, which over time has led to their decision to participate in their violent elimination and to engage in concrete preparatory actions for this purpose,” the statement said.
“The members of the group follow a conglomerate of conspiracy myths consisting of narratives of the so-called Reichsbürger as well as QAnon ideology.”
The statement said the suspected members of the organization were German nationals. Two of the suspected supporters were German and one was Russian, it added.
German Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann said on Wednesday that “democracy is defensible,” adding a “major anti-terror operation” has been underway since this morning.
“The Federal Public Prosecutor is investigating a suspected terrorist network from the Reich citizen milieu,” Buschmann said on Twitter.
“There are suspicions that an armed attack on constitutional organs was planned.”
The federal prosecutor’s office said the raids are continuing and are directed against a further 27 suspects.
